The result of a public opinion poll issued Tuesday showed 62.9 percent of the Chinese respondents had a "very bad" or "not very good" impression of Japan, and 37.9 percent of the Japanese respondents had a "very bad" or "not very good" impression of China.

It is the first time that Chinese and Japanese press circles, academic experts and non-governmental organizations jointly drew up questionnaires for a survey on China-Japan relations conducted simultaneously in the two countries.

The result of the survey was made known at the first Beijing-Tokyo forum which opened here Tuesday morning.

According to organizers of the poll, the Chinese respondents, though many of them have a negative impression of Japan, are still rational toward such issues as China-Japan economic relations and bilateral cooperation in regional affairs.

About 65 percent of the Chinese respondents hold that economic relations between the two countries benefit both sides, and 59 percent "firmly support" or "support" China-Japan cooperation in regional issues.

The survey carried out in Japan shows that few Japanese people regard Japan-China relations more important than Japan-US relations. About 59.9 percent of the Japanese respondents think Japan-China relations should be further promoted on the basis of the development of Japan-US relations.

The organizers did not disclose how many questionnaires had been distributed for the poll, but said the Chinese side had received 1,938 effective pieces, while the Japanese side had received 1,000.

In a keynote speech at the forum, Zhao Qizheng, vice chairman of the Subcommittee of Foreign Affairs of the National Committee of China's top advisory body, said China and Japan enjoy favorable conditions for improving bilateral ties.

The two sides boast a friendship of more than 2,000 years in history with only 50 years of hostilities, have similarities in culture, and share complementarily and common interests in the need for economic development, security and peace, while many people in the two countries are friends, said the former information minister.

Chen Haosu, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said that China and Japan should carry out discussions conducive to seeking common grounds between them, in a spirit of respecting each other and respecting both history and future.

Some 60 people from Chinese and Japanese political, economic, academic, and press circles attended the one-and-a-half-day forum on improving and developing China-Japan relations.

The annual event will be held in turn in the two countries.

Editor: Wing