Media role vital in China-Japan ties

The postponement of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's visit to China has sparked speculation, especially because the visit would have coincided with the 74th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre. But the true reason, I believe, is that China's important central economic conference has been delayed till this week because of the complexity of the country's domestic economy amid deteriorating European debt crisis.

But it has given us another chance to see how history always plays a big role in Sino-Japanese relations. Bilateral ties have been cold in the past two years more because of disputes, including territorial disputes. According to a public opinion poll that China Daily and the Genron NPO (Japan) conducted earlier this year, only 20.8 percent Japanese have a good impression about China and 28.6 percent Chinese have a good opinion about Japan.

The media in both countries should be encouraged to report about the other with accurate details and all-sided facts. It's true that the Japanese media report a lot about the "problems" of and about China, which is partly damaging China's image in Japan.