¶ … culture rely Hofstede's measures lead students confuse similarity cultural closeness. It important understand simply cultural values close, country relations optimal. Two greatest Asia economies, Japan China, case. China vs. Japan

Historically speaking, China and Japan have been enemies. The 'Rape of Nanking' during World War II is still remembered by many Chinese as if it happened yesterday. Despite close economic ties between the two nations, China still fought Japan being included in the UN Security Council because of Japan's war crimes against China (Lehmann 2006). In terms of foreign policy, Japan is understandably frightened by a strong North Korea, which China has failed to condemn when it has pursued aggressive foreign policy and violated human rights (Global impact of a China-Japan-South Korea free trade agreement, 2012, China Briefing).

There is also a certain amount of resource jealousy: China is a large nation with an expanding population; Japan is a small island nation that is resource-poor in terms of land and energy with a rapidly-aging population. Japanese corporations and Japanese technological knowledge have international reputations for quality, in contrast with factories based in China. Yet China's reputation as an economic power...

It no longer sees itself as in need of 'protecting' itself from Japan through isolationism. Until recently, China has resisted trade agreements with Japan and student exchanges. China has dominated as an exporter, rather than an importer, in terms of its consumption of Japanese goods and other resources.
The reason for Chinese mistrust of Japan in the past and today is partially historical, not just economic. Despite Japan's military defeat during Word War II, the nation has prospered. China's economy is rapidly-expanding but the standard of living is far poorer for the majority of its populace, as the Chinese economy has transitioned to an economy that is capitalist in name but still suppresses basic human rights.

If the winners write history, the question of who has 'won' is not clear-cut in this instance. What is clear-cut is that unlike Germany, Japan has never taken full responsibility as a nation for the war crimes it committed during World War II, much to the ire of the Chinese. "Official prime ministerial visits to the Yasukuni shrine -- where Japanese war criminals repose -- or the revision of history textbooks in which the rape of Nanjing or the sex slaves are not mentioned, provide other examples of unnecessary Japanese provocations" (Lehmann…