Sino-Japanese ties vital to rise of Asia

The recent "contaminated" dumpling incident cast a shadow over the improving bilateral ties between China and Japan after a sunny period symbolized by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "ice-breaking visit" to China last year, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's "ice-thawing trip" to Japan, and current Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's "(China) visit to usher in another spring" in Sino-Japanese relations in December.

The incident also got us worried about China-Japan bilateral ties as we celebrated their revival.

Sino-Japanese relations have shown signs of positive development in the past year or so but are still very fragile and can be damaged by a sudden change in the political climate or sabotage by a few individuals bent on destroying the bilateral ties. The two neighboring countries are yet to establish basic mutual confidence, while the two peoples find a lack of trust between them.