The current leaders of the two nations knew only too well how important the development of friendly ties is to both countries. They also appreciated the significance of recognizing that "China and Japan are partners in cooperation and pose no threat to each other". That's why they worked hard to make the "ice-breaking", "ice-thawing", "spring-ushering" and "spring-warmth" trips possible between the two countries.
However, it will take equally persistent wisdom and efforts to etch the gist of the fourth political document, inked by President Hu and Prime Minister Fukuda earlier this month in Tokyo, into the minds of the two peoples. And only by doing so can we hope to truly overpower the erroneous theory that views China as a "potential enemy" of Japan and even the Western world as a whole, as is currently being propagated by some media outlets there.
The most important task at the moment is to forge new ties between the two countries. For "national strategic ties" it is necessary to let everybody learn by heart the consensus that "China and Japan are partners in cooperation" and the top threat to the two nations, or the whole world for that matter, is climate change and environmental pollution.
That's why President Hu Jintao repeatedly emphasized that further enhancing cooperation between China and Japan in the area of energy conservation and environmental protection is the "ultimate highlight" of the bilateral relations.
The fourth political document between the two countries, signed during President Hu's Japan visit, also states, "It is our obligation to posterities and the world community at large to intensify cooperation in energy conservation and environmental protection".
It means cooperation in energy and environmental protection is not just another area in bilateral trade and exchange but a strategic issue linked to the (non-traditional) national security. The question "whether the human race can survive" is causing widespread concern among the two peoples as well as in the international community.
There exists between the two peoples not just "the issue of reckoning history" but "reckoning the reality" as well, together with the presence of a so-called "media curtain" that misleads the public in its own country with untrue, subjective and unfair coverage of the other nation. The phenomenon has been particularly pronounced in the current run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in August.
