China Loves Its 'Old Friends'

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is obsessed with language and slogans, and it employs them with great care. That is why China watchers monitor carefully. They note and seek to fathom the significance of every new expression that appears in The People's Daily or other Party organs. 

Of course, the Chinese people, too, have to pay close attention to anything that signals a change in official policy. That was especially true during the Mao Zedong era. Then, failure to comprehend and adhere to the latest Party line could endanger life and limb. 

Popular first names for Chinese boys in the 1950s and 1960s spoke to the times in which they were born. There were names such as Yuejin ("Leap Forward"), Wenge ("Cultural Revolution") and Zaofan. The latter comes from the expression Zaofan youli ("It's Right to Rebel.") Even today, many Chinese men have the character jun ("military") forming part of their first name. 

But Party slogans and other terms change with the times. One of the more interesting expressions that has survived for decades is Zhongguo renmin de lao pengyou ("Old Friend of the Chinese People"). Prominent China watchers Anne-Marie Brady and Ryan Ho Kilpatrick have explored this curious phenomenon in depth.

Finding the List

It seems this expression first appeared in The People's Daily in 1956. At the time, it referred to the missionary James Gareth Endicott. In the early years, it was a term of honor for foreigners who had actively aided the CCP. These included the Canadian doctor Norman Bethune and the American journalist turned pro-CCP polemicist Edgar Snow.

As of 2010, The People's Daily had designated 601 individuals from 123 countries as members of this elite group. (I could not find a more recent list). 

When used as a diplomatic term, "old friend" has a very specific meaning. It always refers to a high-profile individual who has furthered the interests of the CCP in some manner. The basic criteria for becoming an "old friend" are that the foreigner in question must have espoused positions favorable to China's interests on the international scene or in some way helped advance China's economic construction. 

Friends in the West

They make up a motley collection, with a good sprinkling of dictators, including Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and North Korea's Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il. Less bloodthirsty heads of state, such as the late Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk, are also there.

Prominent Western leaders like Jacques Chirac and United States presidents Richard Nixon and George H Bush are on the list. Jimmy Carter is there also, although Nixon wrote in his memoirs that during his historic 1972 trip to China, Mao told him that he preferred to deal with "rightist" leaders of Western countries. That makes sense since Chinese leaders have always detested being lectured about human rights. 

Undoubtedly, though, numero uno in the "old friends" hall of fame is former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He made roughly 100 trips to China. That is equal in number to his years on earth. Kissinger was certainly no fool. And he did not go to China so many times simply out of fondness for Peking duck. His ties with top Chinese leaders enhanced his prestige and behind-the-scenes influence. 

That role as an intermediary brought considerable business to his geopolitical consulting firm, Kissinger Associates. 

When the indomitable Kissinger made his last visit to China in 2023, President Xi Jinping hailed him as an "old friend." Then he declared, "The Chinese people never forget their old friends. And Sino-US relations will always be linked with the name of Henry Kissinger."

Japanese 'Old Friends'

I was astounded to discover that there are more than 100 Japanese "old friends," by far the largest contingent for any country. It seems that every time you pick up a Japanese newspaper, it is announcing that another parliamentarian's or businessman's group is off to China to cultivate friendly ties. 

That may seem odd considering the often strained government-to-government relations and the torrent of anti-Japanese opinion that floods Chinese social media, while official China is always quick to exploit historical grievances. But observers have noted an interesting pattern. Whenever its relations with the US sour, the CCP turns to its Japanese "old friends" to speak up on its behalf. That scenario is certainly playing out now when Washington's tariff mayhem is making many countries, including Japan, consider other trade options.

My interest having been piqued, I took a look at the list of Japanese "Old Friends of the Chinese People." Not surprisingly, the list was dominated by politicians, including a few prime ministers. Some, such as former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama and former speaker of the House of Representatives Takako Doi, belonged to the now defunct Japan Socialist Party. Long the second largest political party in Japan, the JSP had a definite pro-China slant. 

Other pro-Chinese politicians on the list included former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama and Yohei Kono. Hardly surprising on both counts.

Early 'Old Friends' in Japan

But the vast majority of the "old friends" came from the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP). Kakuei Tanaka, the man who opened relations with the People's Republic, is on there, as are several prominent members of factions descended from his. Among them, luminaries like Noboru Takeshita. Incidentally, Toshihiro Nikai is considered by many to be the most pro-China politician active today. Notably, he started in the Takeshita faction.

There are surprises on the list, too, with some unexpected names, such as former prime ministers Takeo Fukuda and Yasuhiro Nakasone. Neither is known as a raving China supporter. However, they were in office during the critical decades when China was opening up and Japan was providing invaluable economic assistance to jump-start the "Chinese miracle." 

Japanese cultural figures who became "old friends" include Nobel Prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe and the artist Ikuo Hirayama. The latter was a hibakusha who specialized in paintings connected with the Silk Road and Buddhist themes. 

However, the most important of these cultural figures was undoubtedly the controversial religious leader Daisaku Ikeda. He led the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization and believed it his mission to promote peace between China and Japan. His China-friendly legacy lives on in the Komeito, currently the junior ruling coalition party allied with the LDP.

Who Didn't Make the List

Perhaps it was not surprising that certain names were not on the list. Former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's determination to keep visiting Yasukuni Shrine despite howls of protest from Beijing certainly did not endear him to the CCP leadership. Also, pugnaciously nationalistic author and former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara never passed up a chance to "poke the Panda." 

Former prime minister Shinzo Abe and his father, Shintaro Abe, who served as foreign minister under Nakasone, were both known as staunch supporters of Taiwan. That would hardly endear them to the CCP leadership.

One oddity regarding the list of Japanese "old friends" is the lack of members from the Japan Communist Party. In the early postwar period, Sanzo Nosaka led the JCP. He had been indoctrinated at Yanan, China, during the war. However, the fraternal parties had a bitter falling out in the spring of 1966 when then-JCP leader Kenji Miyamoto castigated Mao as "old and senile."

The feud has continued ever since. In fact, the Japanese Communist Party was the sole major party in the Diet not to extend its congratulations to the CCP on the 100th anniversary of its founding on July 1, 2021. Instead, JCP leaders lashed out at China's hegemonic bullying in the East and South China Seas and human rights violations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. 

That only goes to show that "comrades" are not necessarily "old friends."

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Author: John Carroll