Connections matter

Institutionalization of LDP's relations with the CCP

Bibliographic Data

ID6041086
AuthorsKarol Zakowski (0000-0003-2715-570X, University of Lodz, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume13
Issue2
Pages248-265
Publication date2021-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsian Politics & Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1943-0787 • E-ISSN: 1943-0779
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/aspp.12572
OpenAlexW3140286829
LanguageEN
References cited13

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan has tried to institutionalize contacts with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Until 2009, the Sino‐Japanese Conference of Exchange Between the Ruling Parties did little to build ties of trust between both sides, but its revival in 2015 proved much more successful. This article argues that as the institutionalized channels were prone to disturbance caused by ideological leanings of party officials, they did not work as efficiently as sub‐party level of exchange. The weakening of LDP factions and centralization of decision‐making process under the Prime Minister, however, contributed to shortages of Japan's semi‐official diplomacy towards China, which detrimentally influenced bilateral contacts, especially under the second Abe administration. Paradoxically, since 2015 the revived Conference started playing a more important role thanks to determination of LDP secretaries‐general. This article examines the gravity of these personal factors in LDP–CCP relations

China · Communism · Democracy · Diplomacy · Economic shortage · Ideology · Institutionalisation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Sociology · Work (physics · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Public Administration

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