Ping-pong diplomacy broke the ice in the Sino-US relationship during the early 1970s and now the national sport could help warm the thawing ties between China and Japan.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Japanese diplomatic ties, plans are afoot to organize ping-pong games for players from more than 200 sister cities in the two countries, said Chen Haosu, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).

"The games will be more about friendship than competition," Chen, who has headed the association in charge of people-to-people diplomacy since 2000, told China Daily recently.

The last months of 2006 saw a turning point in the bilateral relationship, Chen said, citing two breakthroughs Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited China in October soon after he took office, the first summit between the countries in five years; and a Chinese leader is expected to visit Japan early this year.

"The ties are on the right track, but it does not mean it is a smooth ride. They could still be bumped off the track if not well handled," he said, referring to Japan's distortion of history and its leaders' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 notorious war criminals are honored.

Even on those two fronts, there has been progress, Chen pointed out.

During Abe's October visit, he and President Hu Jintao agreed on the need for joint history studies.

Twenty academics, 10 from each side, met for two days in Beijing last month in the first round of what is expected to be twice-yearly discussions that aim to conclude with a report in 2008.

Abe visited a Shinto shrine at the weekend customary in the New Year but avoided the Yasukuni Shrine in what domestic media said was an effort to please conservative supporters without raising hackles abroad.

Meetings between leaders have to be reinforced by people-to-people contacts, which are the best way to rid mutual suspicion and keep the diplomatic momentum moving forward, Chen added.

On June 25 last year, the CPAFFC, along with its Japanese counterpart, marked the 60th anniversary of the repatriation of 1.05 million Japanese, most of them civilians, from Huludao in Liaoning, Northeast China.

They were left behind when the Japanese invaders surrendered and retreated in 1945; and were sent home between 1946 and 1948, when China was still in a state of civil war.

Chen emphasized the importance of soft power in exchanges with other countries.

It is not about GDP (gross domestic product), it is about the attraction of your culture and the image you leave in the hearts of foreigners, said Chen, noting that China has always valued cultural exchanges with other nations.

"Every culture should be treated equally, and with respect," Chen said.

(China Daily 01/09/2007 page1)