Ａ　Ｗａｒｍｉｎｇ　Ｓｐｒｉｎｇ　ｉｎ　Ｓｉｎｏ－Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　Ｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎｓ.docVIP

Ａ　Ｗａｒｍｉｎｇ　Ｓｐｒｉｎｇ　ｉｎ　Ｓｉｎｏ－Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　Ｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎｓ 　　CHINESE President Hu Jintao traveled to Japan on May 6 for a five-day visit, the first state visit by a Chinese president to Japan in 10 years, signaling a historic warming of relations between the two countries. During the trip President Hu held discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, was welcomed by Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and also met separately with leaders and representatives of Japan’s major political parties. On May 8, he delivered a lecture at Tokyo’s Waseda University in which he offered a five-point proposal to further strategic bilateral relations between the two Asian economic giants. 　　 　　Following initial talks on May 7, President Hu and Prime Minister Fukuda said they reached broad agreement that China and Japan, as close neighbors and vital players in Asia and the world, must together forge a path of peace, friendship and cooperation. The Chinese president said that Sino-Japanese relations were at a historic turning point, and that important new opportunities for further bilateral development should not be missed. He said that both sides should continue working together to establish strategic and mutually beneficial relations. Prime Minister Fukuda praised the consensus demonstrated by the two sides, and vowed to pursue a policy of cooperation and mutual advantage. 　　The two leaders signed a six-point joint statement aimed at securing the strategic interests of their two nations and promoting mutually beneficial relations, and also agreed to jointly tackle the issues of disputed oil and gas rights in the East China Sea and climate change. They also said that history needed to be faced squarely with an eye to the future, and both reaffirmed their commitment to a partnership that took the interests of the other party into account. 　　Also agreed upon was the establishment of a mechanism for regular state visits in an effort to enhance bilateral ties, and in his speec