BEIJING — After allowing anti-Japanese demonstrations that threatened to spin out of control, China has reined them in and turned instead to hard-edged diplomacy over disputed islands in the East China Sea to lessen any potential damage the conflict might have inflicted on the nation’s softening economy and a delicate leadership transition. With relations between the two Asian powers at a low poin
![China Alters Its Strategy in Diplomatic Crisis With Japan (Published 2012)](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/406f3df1a3716ffe55c84d68a6f0aa83be4f6e43/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fnewsgraphics%2Fimages%2Ficons%2FdefaultPromoCrop.png%3Fyear%3D2012)