There might be differences in how Chinese and Japanese people view history but the future lies in promoting friendly exchanges and finding common ground.

That was the general consensus at a forum yesterday in Beijing co-organized by the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) and the visiting Japan Junior Chamber (JC) to mark their 20 years of exchange.

Hiroshi Yokoyama, a delegate from Hyogo, said this is his second visit to China and was very impressed by the nation's economic progress.

"People in Japan generally have a good impression of China though we worried when there were anti-Japan protests in some Chinese cities in April," Hiroshi said. "Maybe some issues can never be totally resolved but we all need to look to the future and seek more common ground," Hiroshi said.

Ide Keiji, minister for public relations at the Japanese Embassy, said: "Though Japanese people have divided opinions on some issues like the shrine visit, when it comes to Sino-Japanese relations, most of our people want friendliness."

The JC delegation yesterday donated 600,000 yuan (US$72,000) to set up a scholarship fund at China Youth University for Political Sciences.

"The scholarship fund shows the goodwill of young Japanese people," said Keiji. "We always encourage this kind of exchange and we hope our young generation will learn more about Chinese people's feelings in this way."

The forum is one of many activities during the delegation's three-day visit to China.

The 376 JC members, most of whom are young entrepreneurs, arrived in Beijing on Monday and were received by Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

"The present difficult situation in Sino-Japanese relations goes against the common interests of the two peoples and we need civilian or youth organizations like JC to push forward Sino-Japanese friendship and carry it from generation to generation," Wang said.

Wang praised JC's efforts to cultivate friendliness between young people of the two nations by offering training courses in fields such as business and environmental protection.

Takatake Kazuaki, head of the delegation and JC president, said: "Our two nations might have different outlooks on history but we are sure to solve these problems through dialogue because the two people's common interests lie in a good relationship."

The JC, founded in 1951, is one of Japan's largest youth organizations.

(China Daily 06/22/2005 page2)