Special to WorldTribune.com

By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com

Diplomatic tension between China and Japan is set to escalate to new heights during the Year of the Horse.

July 25 marks the 120th anniversary of the start of the first Sino-Japanese War in 1894, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership is expected to hold a series of commemorative activities geared toward playing up Chinese patriotism.

President Xi Jinping, who has emerged as a Mao-like strongman, is set to give a speech emphasizing the importance of strong defense capabilities to realizing “the Chinese dream.”

Moreover, given that China’s GDP growth rate in 2014 may dip below 7.5 percent for the first time in 20 years, President Xi and his senior colleagues are banking on nationalism to boost national cohesiveness and to deflect criticism from sectors that have not benefited from the fruits of the country’s 35-year economic reform.

In Japan, the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also appealing to Japanese nationalism to help it push through a series of tough policies.

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  All indicators point to heightened Japan-China tensions during the Year of the Horse, Shinzo Abe, Xi Jinping