"The ghost of nationalism lingers in East Asia." Would it be an exaggeration to apply this well-known phrase to speak on nationalism?

The Chinese can clearly see the surging waves of Japan's nationalism. China in the meantime is often viewed as a country where nationalism prevails.

Amid the severe confrontation that China and Japan find themselves in these days, some believe that nationalistic sentiments in both countries are going head-to-head.

Some East Asian countries such as South Korea have also been associated with "nationalism."

If we insist that China has no nationalism, the outside world would refuse to agree but interestingly, some liberals in China also assert that the antithesis of their collective opinion is nationalism.

The concept of "nationalism" acquires different connotations in different eras. At present, it has more of a negative meaning. The boundary between "nationalism" and "patriotism" is arguably vague, and the public remains divided over the two concepts.

Patriotism is regarded as the positive part of the people's emotions toward their country while nationalism is the negative and extreme part. Even so, some patriotic sentiments can often be confused for nationalism.

China and Japan blame each other for harboring nationalistic sentiments, which is nothing but a war of opinion.

But it must be pointed out that the connotation of nationalism in China differs greatly with that in Japan.

Chinese nationalism advocates "integrity of territory and sovereignty and national prosperity." But in Japan, other than the above content, nationalism has more to do with trying to amend its peace-time constitution and prevent the rise of a changing world triggered by China's development.

China's nationalistic sentiment targets its social levels while those of Japan are led by its leadership that constantly urges a hard-line position toward China. If China begins to respond to Japan's provocations and nationalism, it would entangle itself with Japan and the outside world would not be able to tell right from wrong.

We must avoid the tendency of trying to outcompete Japan in every specific conflict. Such victory is cheap in strategic significance, and may sacrifice China's long-term goal.

China should never compromise with Japan over matters of principle. But we may need to step out of the unyielding race with Japan and not waste time on Japan's lowly politicians and extreme media outlets.

Although, as a victim of the war, China should bear history in mind, it cannot follow the declining island nation's tactics and constrain our own diplomatic space and wisdom with a tit-for-tat policy toward Japan.

Since ancient times, China has always opposed focusing energy on temporary victories. Today's China has to be wiser in understanding and applying those strategies.