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Chinese President in Japan on rare reconciliation visit

JAPAN: President Hu Jintao arrived in Japan yesterday for the first visit here by a Chinese head of state in 10 years, as Asia's two largest economies try to mend fences after decades of friction.

Just three years after relations hit rock bottom, Hu has said his trip would herald a "warm spring" with Japan, which has become a top commercial partner despite the lingering resentments of many Chinese for its past aggression.

It is Hu's first trip abroad since unrest broke out in Tibet in March. Pro-Tibet groups and other critics of Beijing have called for demonstrations here, leading Japan to deploy thousands of police to guard the Chinese leader.

The highway leading to Tokyo's Haneda airport was temporarily sealed off as Hu landed on his special Air China plane. Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura personally welcomed Hu, who smiled and waved as more than 200 Chinese people chanted "Welcome! Welcome!" and offered him bouquets of flowers.

"Japan and China are both important countries in Asia and the world," Hu said in a statement issued on arrival. "This will enhance friendship and cooperation in both countries."

The visit is expected to be largely about symbolism, with Hu slated to show his hand at ping-pong and tour historic temples. The two countries failed to resolve a heated territorial dispute over gas fields in time for the summit. The five-day visit will be Hu's longest trip to a single foreign country since he took power in 2003 and only the second ever by a Chinese head of state to Japan. In a sharp contrast to previous summits between Japan and China, both sides have signalled that emotionally charged rows over history will be left on the back burner.

"I sincerely hope the people of the two countries can maintain friendship generation after generation and create a brighter future for the Sino-Japan friendship," Hu said in a written message to a Japanese-language magazine. Addressing a populist concern, Hu promised to consider finding a replacement for the Tokyo zoo's beloved panda Ling Ling, who died last week.

Hu has also insisted that Beijing was serious about its ongoing probe of pesticide-laced Chinese-made dumplings, an issue that caused an uproar earlier this year in Japan after 10 people were hospitalised. The only other visit by a Chinese president to Tokyo, by Jiang Zemin in 1998, was overshadowed by feuding on whether Japan had adequately apologised for invading China in the 1930s.

Tokyo, Tuesday, AFP

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