China and Japan Seek Closer Ties Through Expo 2025 Osaka

A Shared Stage for Two Close Neighbours

China and Japan are using Expo 2025 Osaka to promote a more constructive and stable relationship, with the China Pavilion drawing more than 770,000 visitors and hosting more than 20 events since opening. Cultural performances, regional celebrations and official exchanges have made the pavilion a focal point for efforts to deepen understanding between two of Asia's largest economies.

As of July 12, 2025, the Expo is still underway. It is scheduled to run from April 13 to October 13 under the theme "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." China's pavilion has its own theme, "Brilliant China, Shared Future," bringing its presentation of national culture and achievements into a wider discussion about how countries can address shared challenges.

At the China National Pavilion Day, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng linked the effort to a relationship stretching back more than 2,000 years. He described the neighbours as countries whose long history of contact makes continued engagement essential.

More than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges have proven the two neighbors cannot move away from each other.

Japanese officials also pointed to the lasting importance of the relationship. Their remarks placed cultural exchange alongside trade, technology and other practical areas in which the countries have reasons to work together.

The event offers a setting for that engagement while difficult issues remain, including territorial disputes in the East China Sea, differences over regional security and competition in advanced technology. The immediate focus in Osaka is on building contact through exhibitions, performances and dialogue, with both governments expressing support for a more stable partnership.

Why the Osaka Expo Matters

Expo 2025 Osaka brings together more than 150 countries and international organizations. World Expos give participants a place to present achievements, share innovations and discuss cooperation. In Osaka, the central theme directs that activity toward the future of society and the challenges affecting people's lives.

The Expo's focus aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, encouraging participants to share responses to problems involving health, the environment and technology. Sustainable development means improving lives while protecting the resources people will need in the future.

China and Japan are both investing heavily in green technologies, digital innovation and public health initiatives. Their participation gives them a global setting in which to present that work and explore shared interests. For the two neighbours, the event also offers an opportunity to strengthen ties while attention is focused on international cooperation.

The key dates frame a six-month period for exhibitions and exchanges:

• April 13, 2025: Expo 2025 Osaka began.
• July 12, 2025: The Expo remains underway, with the China Pavilion having welcomed more than 770,000 visitors since opening.
• October 13, 2025: The Expo is scheduled to close.

What China Is Presenting

The China Pavilion combines cultural programming with a broader effort to present China's history, regional diversity and contemporary achievements. He Lifeng described the image China wants to convey as "genuine, beautiful, credible, and lovable."

Visitors can encounter ethnic dances, traditional music, opera, martial arts, acrobatics and street dance. The range brings older cultural forms and contemporary performance into the same programme, showing different aspects of the country rather than a single tradition.

More than 20 events have taken place at the pavilion, including provincial and municipal activity weeks, corporate days and themed celebrations. Provincial and municipal programmes bring attention to different regions and cities, while corporate days give businesses a place within the wider presentation.

The pavilion's role extends beyond entertainment. Its exhibitions and events are intended to help visitors learn about China's past, the variety of its regions and its present achievements. With more than 770,000 visitors since opening, it has become a prominent setting for those encounters.

Japanese Leaders Call for More Exchange

Yoji Muto, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, connected the Expo's activities to a long history of exchanges in culture, technology and philosophy. He said those interactions had contributed greatly to the development of both countries and expressed hope that Osaka would carry them further.

Muto's message focused on the opportunity for greater contact, including in innovation, environmental sustainability and youth engagement. He stated:

I sincerely hope that the Expo will further advance China-Japan exchanges,

Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and chairman of the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, also encouraged international visitors to explore the pavilion. His remarks linked the presentation of China's different regions to the wider goal of mutual understanding.

I sincerely hope visitors from around the world will explore the China Pavilion, experience the charm of China's diverse regions, and deepen mutual understanding.

The two officials placed value on direct encounters with culture and ideas. Their comments reflected a shared hope that the Expo would open a new chapter of cooperation, with visitors, young people, businesses and public officials all taking part in exchanges.

The Economic Relationship Behind the Displays

China is Japan's largest trading partner, while Japan ranks as China's third-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade exceeded $300 billion in 2023, covering automobiles, electronics, agricultural products and services.

Those figures describe a relationship that reaches well beyond the Expo grounds. Trade connects the two economies through the goods and services they buy and sell, while investment flows and joint ventures link businesses more directly. A joint venture is a business activity that partners undertake together.

Technology, manufacturing and green energy are among the sectors in which investment and joint ventures strengthen those connections. These existing commercial relationships give substance to the calls for cooperation heard in Osaka.

The Expo offers a setting where economic and cultural activity can meet. Corporate events sit alongside regional celebrations and performances, allowing China's presentation to cover business as well as heritage. For Japan and China, maintaining dialogue matters to a relationship already supported by extensive trade and investment.

Tourism and Everyday Contact

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Chinese and Japanese citizens visited each other's countries annually. Those journeys helped people become more familiar with the other country's culture and contributed to mutual appreciation.

As travel restrictions ease, both governments are eager to revive and expand those exchanges. They see tourism and other contact between people as important to lasting stability and friendship, alongside formal meetings and economic cooperation.

The China Pavilion brings that approach into the Expo itself. Visitors can encounter regional traditions, music and performance in a shared public setting. Its programme gives cultural exchange a practical form: people watching, listening and learning about places and traditions they may know less well.

Youth engagement is another area highlighted by Japanese officials. Together with tourism and cultural programming, it places ordinary personal contact within the wider effort to improve relations. The emphasis is on creating opportunities for understanding across generations as well as between governments.

A Long History of Contact and Conflict

China and Japan have one of the world's oldest and most complex relationships. Their history includes extensive cultural exchange, economic partnership, rivalry and conflict. The transmission of Buddhism and Chinese writing to Japan forms part of that long record of contact.

The turbulent years of the 20th century also shaped the relationship. Historical grievances remain part of the context in which present efforts at cooperation take place, even as both governments seek to focus on shared interests.

In recent decades, dialogue among senior officials, parliamentary friendship associations and joint cultural initiatives have contributed to a gradual improvement in ties. The Osaka Expo continues that work by providing common ground for engagement and mutual learning.

He Lifeng's reference to more than 2,000 years of exchange places the pavilion within this longer history. Muto's remarks about culture, technology and philosophy likewise connect present cooperation to the ways the two societies have influenced each other's development.

Where Cooperation Still Faces Pressure

Territorial disputes in the East China Sea, differing approaches to regional security and competition in advanced technology continue to test relations. These issues sit alongside the economic ties and cultural exchanges that officials are seeking to strengthen.

Both sides recognize the importance of dialogue and cooperation in addressing those challenges. In Osaka, their stated aim is to build a "constructive and stable bilateral relationship" suited to a rapidly changing era.

The commitments described at the Expo centre on dialogue and exchange. No timetable for resolving the outstanding disputes was given. For now, the concrete activities include pavilion visits, cultural performances, regional events and opportunities for officials and businesses to engage.

The value of those activities lies in keeping communication active across different parts of the relationship. Trade, tourism, parliamentary contacts and cultural programmes each provide a way for the countries to remain engaged while addressing difficult issues.

A Global Event With a Bilateral Purpose

Expo 2025 Osaka gives China and Japan an international audience for their efforts to cooperate. With more than 150 countries and international organizations participating, their exchanges form part of a wider discussion about health, environmental protection, technology and sustainable development.

Both countries have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in those areas through their investments in green technologies, digital innovation and public health. Cooperation at the Expo can also contribute to the event's broader ambition of a more sustainable and peaceful world.

For visitors, the most visible expression of the relationship is the programme already taking place: performances, exhibitions and events presenting China's regions, history and contemporary achievements. For officials, the same setting offers room to discuss shared interests and the importance of stability.

The Expo continues until October 13. Its remaining months provide further time for the exchanges that Chinese and Japanese leaders have encouraged, with cultural diplomacy and economic partnership at the centre of their message.

Key Points

• Expo 2025 Osaka runs from April 13 to October 13, 2025, under the theme "Designing Future Society for Our Lives."
• The China Pavilion, themed "Brilliant China, Shared Future," has attracted more than 770,000 visitors and hosted more than 20 events since opening.
• He Lifeng, Yoji Muto and Hiroshi Moriyama have highlighted the importance of cultural exchange and closer understanding.
• China is Japan's largest trading partner, while Japan ranks third among China's trading partners. Bilateral trade exceeded $300 billion in 2023.
• Both governments want to revive tourism and expand exchanges while territorial disputes, security differences and technology competition continue to test relations.
• More than 150 countries and international organizations are participating in the Expo, which promotes cooperation on shared challenges.