Over the past 17 years (as of mid-2017), China and Japan have unusual warming in diplomatic political relations, but in the economic field of economic dependence China - Japan is become profound, including bilateral trade relations. Located in East Asia, Japan-China bilateral trade relations are heavily influenced by intra-regional economic links and regional production networks, in which trade in intermediate goods plays a very important role. The growth of intermediate goods trade in China and Japan has increased rapidly in recent times due to the expansion of Japan's production network in East Asia in general and China in particular. The article helps us understand the changes in trade relations between Japan - China from 2001 to the present, assessing the factors affecting this relationship, from which there are orientations and policy recommendations for Vietnam in promoting effective trade relations between Japan and China.