Seeds of friendship

The warmth of the China-Japan relations has a parallel in the late spring temperature.

Last year started with Premier Wen Jiabao's ice-thawing trip to Japan in April and ended with his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda's eve-of-spring tour of China in December.

Chinese and Japanese leaders will have a lot more opportunities to meet. President Hu Jintao is leaving Beijing for Tokyo today for a five-day Japan visit. China has been invited to the G8's Hokkaido Toyako summit in July in Japan; Japanese leaders are expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August.