Following the milestone deal, the foreign ministers of both sides signed a joint declaration to further strengthen bilateral environment cooperation during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan in April 2007.

This was an important document that mapped out bilateral cooperation on environment after a 10-year hiatus. During Premier Wen's visit, another joint declaration was also signed between the two countries on bilateral cooperation in the realm of energy.

This momentum was further consolidated when the then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda paid a visit to China in December 2007, during which a joint communiqu was inked on pushing forward bilateral cooperation in the sphere of environment and energy, and a joint declaration issued on bilateral scientific and technological cooperation on climate change.

The signing of the two documents were concrete steps taken by the two neighbors towards implementing the accord they reached in April the same year.

In May 2008, leaders of the two countries once again signed a joint declaration on joint efforts to deal with climate change, in which the two countries put bilateral environment cooperation at the forefront in tackling the global environment crisis.

As a result of improved Sino-Japanese ties, the governments of China and Japan have paid increasing attention to bilateral cooperation on environment projects. However, the two countries should further deepen cooperation in this aspect as global climate change, as well as such regional environmental issues, loom large.

To more effectively tackle impending environmental threats, China and Japan should set up a joint environment foundation as some scholars have proposed, which will aid bilateral cooperation on environmental issues.

Bilateral cooperation on environmental issues should also be extended to neighboring countries and regions, such as Mongolia and Central Asia, to enhance regional capability to deal with ever-worsening desertification, sandstorms and other pressing environmental concerns.

Given that Japan has accumulated rich experience and nurtured skilled professionals in environmental protection since the end of World War II, China should try to employ Japanese experts to work for some of its small and medium-size enterprises, local cities and rural areas that are hard hit by environmental pollution. This will help them learn professional skills.

In addition to bilateral cooperation and coordination in the international arena, China and Japan should also try to include bilateral environmental cooperation into efforts to tackle energy issues given that environmental deterioration is partly attributed to the use of traditional fossil fuels.

As neighbors, China and Japan have shared interests as far as the environment is concerned. Large-scale cooperation in this field is not only in their own people's interests but also contributes to global efforts to deal with the problem of climate change.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

(China Daily 06/21/2010 page8)