Responding to citizens' demands for economic sanctions to punish Japan for its provocative acts over the Diaoyu Islands, two professors who teach in both China and Japan said that China should analyze the situation thoroughly before adopting such measures.

Li Aiwen, a professor at China's University of International Business and Economics and visiting professor at Japan's Ritsumeikan University, said: "Economic sanction is a double-edged sword; we need to make a thorough and careful examination of the situation before using this tool in order to minimize the potential damages to China itself."

Li said if China takes such an action, Japan's investment in China will undoubtedly be affected in the short-term. But the undisputed fact that Chinese and Japanese economies are intertwined makes it impossible for either of the two countries to stay independent of each other economically. Japan relies on China for economic growth and vise versa, Li explained.

Meanwhile, Li pointed out that the Chinese people should realize that Japanese businessmen who want to cultivate and maintain rapport with China are the mainstream in Sino-Japan relations, whereas Japan's far-right wing plays a very minor role.

Zhou Muzhi, a professor at Japan's Tokyo Keizai University and visiting professor at China's University of International Business and Economics, said that because China and Japan have close economic and cultural ties, China has many friends in Japan. China should avoid undermining its friends by imposing economic sanctions in order to punish anti-Chinese forces, Zhou said.

Proposing a solution, Zhou said that China needs to set up a "negative feedback mechanism,” which is able to closely link Japan's business community to its political community to set off negative factors. The professor believed that such a system could tackle the Sino-Japan relation crisis and enable the two countries' relations to stay positive over the long-term.

The latest data obtained from last week's China Jilin-Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo showed that the Sino-Japan trade volume reached US$342.89 billion in 2011, increasing 15.1 percent year-on-year with 20.6 percent of Japan's foreign trade coming from China. China maintained its status as Japan's largest trading partner and first export destination country, and Japanese companies poured more money into China.

In addition, some Japanese media reported that China has become a major target customer for the Japanese airline industry and Japan's tourism industry. Japan has launched more Chinese-language tour guidebooks and multi-entry visas in order to attract Chinese tourists.

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