Japan should treasure historic change in relations

Editor's Note: At the 15th opening ceremony of the Beijing-Tokyo Forum, held in Beijing on Saturday and Sunday, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a speech, saying China and Japan are shouldering increasingly important joint responsibilities and common missions, as both have become key regional influencers. Columnist Niutanqin comments in a WeChat post:

In his speech, Wang said the interests of China and Japan have never been so widely and deeply integrated, and the development of the two countries has never been so directly and closely linked as today.

The data back this up. China and Japan now have a bilateral trade volume exceeding $300 billion, 12 million person-times of personnel exchanges every year, more than 1,000 direct flights per week and more than 250 pairs of sister cities.