Treaties between China and Japan after normalization of bilateral relations

Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship （中日和平友好條約）

April 12, 1978

[Photos/People's Daily]

Treaty of peace and friendship between the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of Japan was a peace treaty concluded between the People's Republic of China and Japan on Aug 12, 1978. The treaty was signed in Beijing by Huang Hua (1913–2010), Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, and Sunao Sonada (1913–1984), Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. The treaty went into effect on Oct 23, 1978 with the state visit of Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) to Japan. The treaty had its origin in the Joint Statement between the government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the government of Japan of 1972. Negotiations on a formal peace treaty began in 1974, but were drawn out over various disputes until 1978. The treaty ultimately consisted of five articles. [Full text]