尽管在能源效率和环境保护领域开展了新的合作项目，而且中国在上述领域里把日本列为工业化国家首选的合作伙伴，但中日双方依然在地区性水域问题上存在着严重的对立，而在中日存在着严重争议的水域，很有可能蕴藏着大量的石油、天然气和其他矿产资源。
Despite new joint projects in energy efficiency and environmental protection, areas in which China ranks Japan as the best performer among industrialized countries, the two sides remain in bitterly divided over these territorial waters, which contain huge potential oil, gas, and other mineral deposits. Even after many rounds of talks, no resolution is in sight, and Hu’s visit is not expected to produce any breakthroughs.