每日英语：What's at Stake in China-Japan Spat: $345 Billion to Start
An economic war between China and Japan could have serious consequences, as Asia's two largest economies are integrally tied together in trade and investment. Total trade between the two: $345 billion.
at Stake：
The economic impact from the spat between Japan and China over disputed islands that lie between the two nations is on the rise. Violent riots in China forced Japanese retailers and factories to shutter. Stocks tied to Japan fell sharply Monday on the news.
spat：口角，小争吵 shutter：使停止运行，关闭
Two prominent voices in China suggested implementing economic sanctions against Japan's as a response to Japan's actions over the islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The idea was floated Monday in separate editorials, one in the overseas edition of People's Daily, mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, and one in China Daily, the country's main state-run English-language newspaper.
prominent：
'Japan's economy will suffer severely if China were to impose sanctions on it. China's loss would be relatively less,' said the piece in China Daily, penned by Jin Baisong, an analyst at a think tank affiliated with China's Ministry of Commerce. The headline of the piece: 'Consider Sanctions on Japan.'
sanction：
It's arguable who would be hit worse. Both economies would suffer for sure. China has relied heavily on Japanese investment capital and technology and Japan is a key export market, its third largest after the U.S. and E.U. (not counting Hong Kong, which is mostly a transshipment point). Japan benefits from those investments it makes in China in terms of corporate profits. And China is Japan's biggest customer of expensive exports like heavy machinery and high tech gear.
transshipment：转载 gear：齿轮，装置，工具，调和
Damage from a China-Japan trade war would spread beyond the two countries. Supply chains for everything from iPads to automobiles rely on parts and materials making it back and forth easily between Japan and China. U.S., South Korean, Malaysia, German and Thai companies are in the middle of the China-Japan economic relationship.
Here's a look at what's at stake in numbers:
TRADE
For China:
China's second-biggest trading partner is Japan, coming after only the U.S., with $345 billion worth of goods going back and forth in 2011, representing 9% of China's overall trade. That's more than all the trade China does with the four other so-called Brics countries ─ Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa plus the U.K.
For Japan:
China is Japan's largest trading partner, and by a lot. China accounted for 21% of Japan's exports and imports in 2011. The next closest was the U.S. at 12%, then South Korea at 6%.
(Source: Global Trade Atlas, Japan External Trade Organization)
INVESTMENT
For China:
China took in $6.3 billion in foreign direct investment from Japan in 2011, and has accumulated $69 billion in investments since 1996, according to data provider CEIC, based on Chinese government data. Japanese government data pegs the numbers even higher: $12 billion in 2011 and $83 billion accumulated investment since 1996.
peg：借口，遁词，
For Japan:
Japan barely attracts any capital from China. It counts $560 million of total foreign direct investments from China as of the end of 2011, according to Japanese government data. By way of comparison, the U.S. has invested $70 billion in Japan over that time and the E.U. $94 billion.
(Source: Japan External Trade Organization, CEIC)
TRAVEL & TOURISM
For China:
China was Japan's No. 1 international tourism destination in 2011. More than 3.65 million Japanese crossed the sea to visit China, a 50% increase from a decade earlier. That level, however, is a decline from the peak of 3.97 million in 2007.
For Japan:
At its peak in 2009, China sent 1.4 million visitors to Japan, including tourists and business travelers. The number fell to 1 million in 2011, something analysts attributed to the strained relations between the two nations and a strong Japanese yen. But the numbers seemed to be on the rise again this year. Through July, Chinese visitors to Japan hit 950,000, up 72% from 2011.
strained：