JAPAN is often viewed with antipathy in China, but increasingly commerce is trumping contempt. During the lunar new-year holiday in February, Chinese tourists thronged to Japan in record numbers. Many came home lugging a high-end Japanese luxury: a heated toilet-seat complete with pulsating water jets, deodorisers and even music to drown out less melodious tinklings. In recent weeks the run on Japanese loos has been a topic of much debate among Chinese commentators, revealing deep insecurities.
Chinese visitors bought more high-tech lavatory seats than almost any other Japanese product during the week-long break, according to Hottolink, a Japanese consulting firm. Most popular was a new variety with hands-free lid opening, say staff at a branch in Tokyo of Bic Camera, a consumer electronics store where Chinese shoppers are so numerous that signs advertise wares in Chinese and assistants speak Mandarin. These cost around 65,000 (540). Some bought several seats, including portable, battery-powered ones.
Relations between China and Japan have shown recent, tentative signs of warmth after a long chill. But only three years ago demonstrators in several Chinese cities called for a boycott of Japanese goods in protest against Japan's stance in a still-festering dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Some Japanese companies responded by minimising or hiding their branding on products sold in China.
China's state-controlled media have found little comfort in the discovery that many Japanese loos are actually made-to-order in China, a situation that is not confined to the water closet. Many Chinese consumers do not trust the reliability of such items sold at home―and refuse to pay the often higher prices charged for export-standard goods.
The thorny issue was even raised during meetings this month of China's parliament and its advisory body. The prime minister, Li Keqiang, chimed in, calling for Chinese firms to raise the quality of their own seats. “At least that could save consumers the price of a plane ticket,” he said. Relations between the two countries may become bogged down in yet another intractable rivalry.
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中国人总是很反感日本，但是， 两国间愈发频繁的贸易活动正悄然淡化这种藐视感。 在中国农历的新年假期，也就是二月份，涌入日本的中国游客数目创下了历史新高。许多人都拖着一个日系高端奢侈品回家：加热马桶盖。这个马桶盖自带全套脉动水射流、除臭剂，甚至可以发出音乐铃声来盖过那些不怎么悦耳的声音。最近几周，日本马桶管理的话题一直在中国评论员间引发争论，透露出深深的不安感。
日本咨询公司Hottolink称，在为期一周的休假中，中国游客购买高科技马桶盖的数量几乎超过了其他任何的日本产品。消费电子产品店必酷(Bic Camera)里的中国消费者众多，它在中国签下了广告商品，店员会讲普通话。其东京分店的工作人员说，最受欢迎的是一个新品种，它的马桶盖能自动打开。这些马桶盖的成本在人民币65,000元左右(合540美元)。有的中国游客买了好几个马桶盖，有便携式的，也有电池供电的。
最近，中日关系在经历了漫长的寒冬后显现出初步回暖的迹象。但仅仅三年之前，中国几个城市的示威者呼吁抵制日货，以抗议日本对中国东海无人居住岛屿上一贯存有争议且不断恶化的立场。对此，一些日本企业的应对是最小化中国市场份额，或是在对中销售的产品上隐去品牌。
实际上，很多日本马桶盖是在中国定做的，这类情况并不仅限于抽水马桶，中国国有媒体从这些发现中获得了些许安慰。许多中国消费者不相信在本国出售的这些产品的可靠性，并拒绝支付因收取出口货物标准使然往往较高的价格。
这一棘手的问题甚至在中国本月的两会期间被提出。总理李克强表态，呼吁中国企业提升自己的产品质量。他说，“起码能为消费者省下机票钱”。中日两国之间的关系可能会因此深陷另一个棘手竞争。