Premier Wen Jiabao's three-day official visit to Japan, which began Sunday, is expected to deepen the two Asian powers' strategic relationship and drive bilateral relations in a stable and mutually beneficial direction.

From chatting with Japanese citizens at a Tokyo park to writing a haiku-style poem eulogizing Sino-Japanese friendship, the Chinese premier's visit has sparked much goodwill.

At a time when the world is facing challenges and opportunities in equal measure, closer bilateral ties will ensure that the two nations surmount difficulties together on the road to development and shoulder more responsibilities in regional and world affairs.

Wen and his Japanese counterpart, Yukio Hatoyama, have vowed to establish a hotline for the two governments to communicate on a host of issues of mutual concern. Regular consultation holds the key to expanding ties and deepening understanding of each other's positions on contentious issues.

The two leaders have also pledged to launch negotiations for implementing a principled consensus on the East China Sea issue and speed the establishment of a maritime communication mechanism between their respective defense departments.

Such arrangements indicate that Beijing and Tokyo are unlikely to allow disputes over the East China Sea to overshadow positive relations.

The two nations should not allow hatred, a leftover of history, to take root in the hearts and minds of youth in both nations.

Wen has demonstrated great sagacity by emphasizing that China and Japan should not allow hatred to breed. Many disputes and differences between the two countries can be traced back to the hostilities extant in the two societies.

Once they discard the burden of history even while remembering its lessons, the two nations can embrace an even brighter future in bilateral relations, and the pristine tradition of Sino-Japanese friendship can be handed down generation after generation.

(China Daily 06/01/2010 page8)