Bilateral relations remain chronically troubled .
Clashes have erupted after matches between Chinese and Japanese teams in recent years and brought international expressions of concern about what they portended for 2008 ( Makinoda 2007 ; McNeill 2004 ; McGregor and Pilling 2004 ) .
Bilateral relations remain chronically troubled , and clashes have erupted after matches between Chinese and Japanese teams in recent years and brought international expressions of concern about what they portended for 2008 ( Makinoda 2007 ; McNeill 2004 ; McGregor and Pilling 2004 ) .