According to the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on October 28 local time, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the new Japanese Foreign Minister Momoi sensitively telephoned.

Wang Yi pointed out in the call that China noticed some positive signals from the release of the new Japanese cabinet and hoped that the new Japanese cabinet would take the "first step" in its exchanges with China and press the "first button".

In response, Momoi Minchong responded that China is an important neighbor of Japan, and the prime minister attaches great importance to Japanese-Japanese relations, and the Japanese side has no intention of "breaking off the chain" with China.

This dialogue has been interpreted by the outside world as a difficult sign of easing the relations between China and Japan, but behind the seemingly positive statements, deeper contradictions and trials are hidden.

As Japan's first female prime minister, her hawkish background has given her policy to China a lot of attention.

She has long been known for her strong stance in support of constitutional reform and military expansion, and even visited Taiwan before becoming prime minister, escalating tensions between China and Japan.

However, after she came to power, she released some signals different from the past.

First of all, in terms of personnel arrangements, Toshimitsu Motegi once again became foreign minister. As a "pragmatic" to China, he promoted the improvement of Sino-Japanese relations in the cabinets of Abe and Suga Yoshihide.

Secondly, Takashi Saami rarely mentioned in his policy speech that "China is an important neighbor of Japan" and said that he would promote Japan-China strategic and mutually beneficial relations.

This statement seems to have injected new possibilities into Sino-Japanese relations. But the question is, can these mitigation signals be translated into practical actions?

During the ASEAN Summit, sanae takaichi still pointed fingers at China's internal affairs, smearing and provoking China on the Taiwan Province issue, Diaoyu Islands issue and South China Sea issue.

This dual nature makes the future of Sino-Japanese relations full of uncertainty.

In the call, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that "stopping the first button" was obviously a knock on the government of the Chinese government, warning it not to release goodwill on the one hand, while committing acts that harm China's core interests.

In fact, Sino-Japanese relations have long been wavering amid cooperation and contradiction.

On the one hand, China is Japan's largest trading partner, and the two countries have close economic ties, with bilateral trade in 2024 exceeding $300 billion.

On the other hand, at the political level, the contradictions between the two sides on the Taiwan Province issue, historical issues and military expansion are constantly intensifying. In particular, Japanese hawkish forces promote constitutional amendment and military expansion, and regard China as an "imaginary enemy". These actions not only damage Sino-Japanese relations, but also threaten regional peace and stability.

Historical issues are also important obstacles in the relations between China and Japan.

In Japan, right-wing forces have long tried to embellish the history of aggression, and some politicians have even denied the fact of the Nanjing Holocaust, which not only makes China unacceptable, but also angers other Asian victims such as South Korea.

If the Gaoshi Zaomiao government wants to improve Sino-Japanese relations, it must adopt a sincere attitude on historical issues and win the trust of neighboring countries with practical actions. Otherwise, the easing of Sino-Japanese relations will only remain on the surface.

In the future, will the Takaichi Sanae government really change its position on China policy and promote the easing of Sino-Japanese relations? Or continue to stick to a hawkish stance, which leads to further deterioration of relations between the two countries? The answers to these questions deserve our continued attention.