By?ZONG Shihan & ZHANG Jiaxin

The?19th?Annual?Beijing-Tokyo?Forum,?co-hosted?by?the?China?International?Communications?Group?(CICG)?and?the?Japanese?non-profit?think?tank Genron?NPO,?kicked?off?in?Beijing?offline?and?online on?October?19.

The?forum?focused?on?the?responsibilities?of the two nations?for?stability?in?Asia?and?peace?and?cooperation?in?the?world.?Participants?from?the?political,?economic,?academic?and?media?sectors?of?both?China?and?Japan?discussed?enhancing?political?mutual?trust,?strengthening?security?guarantees,?clarifying?media?responsibilities,?developing?the?digital?economy and?enhancing?youth?exchanges.

The forum assumes special significance with this?year?marking?the 45th anniversary of?the?signing?of?the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship.?Takeo Fukuda, former prime minister of Japan,?once described the treaty as "building a solid bridge between the two countries."

A new starting point

Wang?Yi,?minister?of?Foreign?Affairs?of?China,?said 45 years?ago, the leaders?of?the?two?countries?used?strategic?culture?and?political?wisdom?to?conclude?the?treaty,?which?established?the?joint?goal?of?developing?long-lasting?friendship?between?the?two?countries?in?legal?form.?

"Forty-five?years?later,?the?core?contents?of?the?treaty,?such?as?non-interference?in?each?other's?internal?affairs?and?opposing?any?country's?pursuit?of?hegemony,?are?still?what?China-Japan?relations?must?abide?by,"?Wang?said?at?the?forum,?adding?that?the?treaty?is?conducive?to?addressing?the?risks?facing?the?world?today.

Sun?Yeli,?vice?minister?of?the?Publicity?Department?of?the?Communist?Party?of?China?Central?Committee,?said China?and?Japan are?neighbors?separated?by?a?strip?of?water?and?have?deep?historical?and?cultural?origins.?The?history?of?more?than?2,000?years?of?exchanges?proves?that?only?sincerity?can?achieve?everlasting?friendship.?The?45th?anniversary?of?the treaty?is?both?a?milestone?and?a?new?starting?point.?China?and?Japan?should?take?history?as?a?mirror?and create?a?better?future?for their development.

Japanese foreign minister?Yoko?Kamikawa said she hoped?that?the?wisdom?of?the participants?at?the?conference would inject?new?vitality?into?the?treaty?and?make it a?driving?force?for?creating?a?better?future?for?both?countries.

Du?Zhanyuan,?president?of?CICG, said more than 2,000?years?of?exchanges?between?China?and?Japan show that peace, friendship and?mutual?learning?have?always?been?the?main?themes?in?the?hearts?of?the?two?peoples.?Currently,?the two nations?are?striving?to?build?a?relationship?that?meets?the needs of the?new?era.?

Joint effort to deal with?unresolved issues

As the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, uncertainties?pose?a?challenge?to?the healthy and stable development of China and Japan relations.

"The?two?countries?are?facing?a?lot?of?unresolved?issues. In this?period, we?need?to?face?the?challenges?and?continue?to conduct frank?dialogue,?which?will?help?build the stable development bilateral relations that?the?two?leaders?have?agreed?on,"?Kamikawa?said.

Wang?said?the?two?neighbors?should?keep?their?promises?and?safeguard?the?political?foundation?of?bilateral?relations.?The?four?political?documents?between?China?and?Japan,?including?the?China-Japan?Treaty?of?Peace?and?Friendship,?are?the?political?foundation?of?bilateral?relations.?Facts?have?proved?that?bilateral?relations?can?develop?smoothly?only?if?both?sides?abide?by?the?agreement,?otherwise?they?will?go?off?course.

Yasuo?Fukuda, former?prime?minister?of?Japan, said with world?situation becoming?more?and?more?complex, the?most?important?thing for?political?leaders is to?look?at?the?big?picture,?make?decisions,?and?take?action.

Toshiro?Muto,?director?general?of?the?Japanese?committee?of?the?forum?and?former?Tokyo?2020?CEO,??said?in?the?face?of?the?increasingly?severe?international?situation,?how?to?maintain?peace?and?prosperity?in?Asia,?especially?in?East?Asia,?is?a?common?issue?for China?and?Japan.?On?the 45th?anniversary?of?the signing of the treaty,?it?is?necessary?to?revisit?the?original?intention?and?engage?in?candid?dialogue.

Sun?pointed?out?that?the?economies?of?China?and?Japan?are?highly?complementary?and?enjoy?broad?space?for?cooperation.?The?two?countries?should?foster?more?new?economic?growth?points?and?achieve?a?higher?level?of?mutual?benefit?and?win-win?results.

People-to-people?friendship?for better ties

The?participants spoke about their?expectations for the promotion of bilateral relations, regarding people-to-people friendship as the source of vitality for the development of China-Japan relations.

Wang?said?the?two?peoples,?especially?the?younger?generation,?should?have?more?face-to-face?communication,?enhance?mutual?understanding?and?trust,?and?build?a?solid?public?support?for?the?development?of bilateral?relations.

Sun mentioned that at the?recently concluded?Hangzhou Asian Games, Japan sent the largest delegation in history?to the Asian Games. The audience were impressed by the wonderful performances and friendly interactions?between?Chinese and Japanese athletes. "We should carry forward the tradition of people-to-people friendship and carry out extensive exchanges and cooperation in the fields such as culture, sports, film and television, and publishing, especially among young people," Sun said.

Du?referred to?the results of the latest survey of public opinion on China-Japan relations.?Chinese and Japanese respondents highly recognize the role of non-governmental exchanges,?with?61.5?percent?of Chinese respondents and 53.1?percent?of Japanese respondents?affirming?the importance of non-governmental exchanges in improving?bilateral?relations. Du said the two sides should make greater efforts in cultural exchanges, build more exchange platforms, and promote more people-to-people exchanges, especially among young people.