Annual Tokyo-Beijing Forum hailed as ties facilitator

The 6th Tokyo-Beijing Forum, which concluded its two-day sessions on Tuesday, was hailed as a platform facilitating the communication between China and Japan.

At a press conference after the meeting, Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Zhao Qizheng said the forum served as the role of public diplomacy which got expanded every year since its launching in 2005, when the ties of the two countries were strained. The panel sessions never avoided sensitive and important issues, he added.

Yasushi Akashi, former UN Under-Secretary-General, said the sessions reflected the public opinions and he felt a ray of hope and confidence through the forum.

Liu Jiangyong, a professor with Tsinghua University in Beijing, said the forum touched upon the phrases of mutual respect, mutually making compromise and mutually learning, and he was more confident of the future of the ties between the two countries.

During the sessions, the results of a public opinion poll on Chinese and Japanese's views of the other country were frequently cited by speakers. This year's poll showed 38.3 percent of ordinary Chinese citizens have positive views on Japan, 5.7 percentage points higher than in 2009. About 45.2 percent of Chinese students have a positive impression about Japan.

Likewise, 27.3 percent of Japanese ordinary citizens and 51.4 percent of Japanese intellectuals feel good about China, both slightly higher than last year.

The forum gathered some 800 participants from various circles in two countries and they carried dialogues on issues covering politics, economy, media and security.

The forum, held annually since 2005, is jointly organized by the biggest Chinese English newspaper, China Daily, and Genron NPO, a Japanese think tank.

Source: Xinhua