Youth exchange: Future of Sino-Japanese ties

If the economic and trade ties represent today's China-Japan relations, then youth exchange and friendship are the future of the bilateral ties. The day before Hu Jintao left for Japan, college students in Beijing were discussing Sino-Japanese ties.

This is a preliminary meeting of the Jing Forum, created by Peking and Tokyo University two years ago.

The forum aims to bring future leaders of both countries onto a candid platform to disperse misunderstandings and nurture trust and friendship.

A Chinese college student said, "People say President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan is a warm spring visit. I hope it can open a new era for China-Japan relations. "

With his fluent Chinese, it might not be obvious that Yoshikazu Kato is Japanese.

The 23-year-old is a founding member of the Jing Forum.

In 2003, he gave up the opportunity to enter a Japanese university, and came to China to start a whole new life.

Japanese student Yoshikazu Kato said, "I had nothing when I came to China. I couldn't speak Chinese, I had no money and no friends. Uneasiness and expectation were 50-50. At the beginning, my family worried about me, since they thought China was a dangerous country. But I insisted on staying here even during SARS. Now I can say I made the right decision, because I find China is open, comprehensive and full of opportunities."

Drawing on his experiences, Kato puts his perspectives about China-Japan relations on his blog.

Many netizens, especially young people, post their views, some of which are decidedly hostile.

Kato thinks the problems are caused by misunderstanding.

He says Chinese and Japanese need more room to know each other.

Japanese student Yoshikazu Kato said, "If the two countries maintain frequent exchanges of visits on the political level, it will help to build a good atmosphere for the civilian contacts."