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People-to-people dialogue can aid official diplomacy

By Yasushi Kudo (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-06 07:16

Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan unveils a new chapter of China-Japan relations which will move forward to a new stage from the ice-thawing point.

Leaders of the two countries have reached a common understanding that China and Japan will make joint efforts to resolve various issues of Asia and the world. After listening to Hu's speeches and getting to know the personality of China's top leader, the Japanese people will further develop their intimacy with China.

Although the relations between the two governments have been improving, what cannot be overlooked is that people-to-people exchanges of both sides remain definitely under-utilized and that mutual understanding still needs to be strengthened.

An opinion poll of both Chinese and Japanese people suggests that direct people-to-people exchanges of the two countries are still insufficient and that mutual understanding remains extremely immature. We need to improve the situation, even if it takes time.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda cherishes harmony, aspires for peace and common development of Asia, and seeks to upgrade China-Japan relations to a new stage. He attaches great importance to China-Japan relations not only because he followed his father's commitment to a peaceful relationship with China, but also because the Japanese people hope that the government will work toward promoting peace and development rather than resolving conflicts between the two countries only.

The exchange of high-level visits should be the prelude to the various dialogues and communication between the people of the two countries. Exchanges should not be restricted only to the government level. Without understanding and sympathetic responses between the two peoples, the bilateral ties will remain incomplete.

The potential of non-governmental exchanges is something I would like to emphasize. The development of the Sino-Japanese ties will not only rely on the efforts of the governments but also the exchanges of the two peoples in order to consolidate the foundation of the new ties. The future of Asia is not about competition for authority and standard between countries. Only through active and multi-faceted people-to-people dialogues and exchanges can a solid new bilateral relationship be conceived.

In the past three years, we have held three sessions of the Beijing-Tokyo Forum, a high-level civil dialogue platform by officials and intelligent people from our two countries, and we have released the results of our discussion to the public. It is known to the public that the speech by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, then the chief cabinet secretary, at the second "Tokyo-Beijing Forum" in August 2006, became a direct pivot for the resumption of bilateral summits a month later.

The Chinese side calls such people-to-people dialogues "public diplomacy" to complement the diplomacy by governments. The public can play its role in diplomacy and it is one of the new possibilities of public exchange.

Voices of the people, including different opinions, are very important in Japan where leaders are elected from their constituencies. Given the differences in our national conditions, it is important to respect each other's views and conduct free and serious people-to-people dialogue for the common interests of both countries and for Asia. Only such relationships will yield genuine friendship.

The author is head of Genron NPO, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating forums for responsible, productive debates on Japan's future

(China Daily 05/06/2008 page9)