• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUUkraine
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Minxin Pei",
    "Michael D. Swaine"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie China"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "asia",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie China",
  "programAffiliation": "AP",
  "programs": [
    "Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "China",
    "East Asia",
    "Japan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Military",
    "Foreign Policy",
    "Domestic Politics"
  ]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Other
Carnegie China

Simmering Fire in Asia: Averting Sino-Japanese Strategic Conflict

Link Copied
By Minxin Pei and Michael D. Swaine
Published on Nov 22, 2005

Source: Carnegie Endowment

The rapid deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations in recent years has raised geopolitical tensions in East Asia and could embroil China and Japan in a dangerous strategic conflict that could be threatening to U.S. interests. China’s rise, Japan’s growing assertiveness in foreign policy, and new security threats and uncertainties in Asia are driving the two countries increasingly further apart. Political pandering to nationalist sentiments in each country has also contributed to the mismanagement of bilateral ties. But Japan and China are not destined to repeat the past. Their leaders must ease the tensions, restore stability, and pursue a new agenda of cooperation as equals. For its part, the United States must play a more positive and active role.

In the last two years, the ties between Beijing and Tokyo have been severely damaged by a series of crises and incidents, and domestic sentiments are increasingly hostile toward each other. Given the economic and strategic importance of Japan and China in East Asia, the downward spiral of Sino-Japanese relations poses a major threat to the region’s peace, stability, and prosperity, and to U.S. interests in the region. In a new Carnegie Policy Brief, Simmering Fire in Asia: Averting Sino-Japanese Strategic Conflict, Senior Associates Minxin Pei and Michael Swaine analyze the underlying strategic dynamics of the recent events in Asia.

Click on the link above for the full text of this Carnegie publication.

A limited number of print copies are available.
Request a copy

About the Authors
Minxin Pei is a senior associate and director of the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment. He is the author of From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union (Harvard University Press, 1994) and China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy (Harvard University Press, 2006).

Michael Swaine is a senior associate in the Carnegie Endowment's China Program, specializing in Chinese security and foreign policy, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian Relations. He is the author of Deterring Conflict In The Taiwan Strait :The Successes and Failures of Taiwan’s Defense Reform and Modernization Program (Carnegie Paper # 47).


 

About the Authors

Minxin Pei

Former Adjunct Senior Associate, Asia Program

Pei is Tom and Margot Pritzker ‘72 Professor of Government and the director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.

Michael D. Swaine

Former Senior Fellow, Asia Program

Swaine was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and one of the most prominent American analysts in Chinese security studies.

Authors

Minxin Pei
Former Adjunct Senior Associate, Asia Program
Minxin Pei
Michael D. Swaine
Former Senior Fellow, Asia Program
Michael D. Swaine
MilitaryForeign PolicyDomestic PoliticsChinaEast AsiaJapan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Is France’s New Nuclear Doctrine Ambitious Enough?

    French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his country’s new nuclear doctrine. Are the changes he has made enough to reassure France’s European partners in the current geopolitical context?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Commentary
    The Iran War’s Dangerous Fallout for Europe

    The drone strike on the British air base in Akrotiri brings Europe’s proximity to the conflict in Iran into sharp relief. In the fog of war, old tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean risk being reignited, and regional stakeholders must avoid escalation.

      Marc Pierini

  • Trump United Nations multilateralism institutions 2236462680
    Article
    Resetting Cyber Relations with the United States

    For years, the United States anchored global cyber diplomacy. As Washington rethinks its leadership role, the launch of the UN’s Cyber Global Mechanism may test how allies adjust their engagement.

      • Christopher Painter

      Patryk Pawlak, Chris Painter

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Global Instability Makes Europe More Attractive, Not Less

    Europe isn’t as weak in the new geopolitics of power as many would believe. But to leverage its assets and claim a sphere of influence, Brussels must stop undercutting itself.

      Dimitar Bechev

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Europe on Iran: Gone with the Wind

    Europe’s reaction to the war in Iran has been disunited and meek, a far cry from its previously leading role in diplomacy with Tehran. To avoid being condemned to the sidelines while escalation continues, Brussels needs to stand up for international law.

      Pierre Vimont

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.