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NARA, Japan : Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday said his five-day visit to Japan, which has seen the traditional rivals commit to closer ties but also met protests over Beijing's rule in Tibet, was a success.
On the final day of his trip, only the second visit ever by a Chinese head of state to Japan, Hu visited the Toshodaiji Temple, a revered Buddhist temple built by Chinese monk Ganjin in 759 when the city was the nation's capital.
The choice of Nara is seen as a bid to remember times when bilateral relations were amicable, unlike the two countries' tortured recent history tainted by Japan's militarism before and during World War II.
"This visit was harmonious and successful," Hu told reporters before leaving Nara.
"Cooperation between China and Japan has produced big achievements in various fields. I believe further progress will be made in the future," he said.
Hu also visited the Horyuji Temple, the world's oldest surviving wooden structure, built more than 1,300 years ago, where he said: "It is good for both countries to stay friendly and peaceful."
There was, however, open dissent Saturday, with dozens of protesters gathered in front of the temple waving Tibetan flags and chanting "Free Tibet!" as Hu arrived, while pro-Tibet demonstrators rallied in the streets of Nara.
Inside the temple, a calmer atmosphere prevailed as Hu listened, nodding and smiling, to a narrative on the history of the structure from a Buddhist monk.
Hu is due to visit the headquarters of Japanese electronics giant Matsushita in Osaka, before heading home.
The two leaders on Wednesday agreed to start regular summits to ease decades of tension coloured by Japan's brutal invasion of China, and pledged that Asia's two largest economies would not see each other as a threat.
During his stay in Japan this week, Hu has not been short on friendly gestures, offering to lend two giant pandas to a Japanese zoo and shedding his jacket and glasses to show off his table tennis prowess.
The Chinese president has repeated conciliatory remarks aimed at improving ties, praising Japan's "peaceful" role in world affairs and voicing gratitude for Japan's decades of low-interest loans to China since the end of World War II.
This new spirit of friendship makes a stark contrast to the atmosphere just a few years ago.
Jiang Zemin, the only other Chinese president to come to Japan, publicly berated his hosts on his 1998 visit for not offering a stronger apology over past militarism, foreshadowing a decade of tension between the two countries.
China broke off high-level dialogue with Japan during the 2001-2006 premiership of Junichiro Koizumi, citing his insistence on visiting a shrine that venerates Japanese war dead including war criminals.
Fukuda, a long-time advocate of stronger ties with Asia, has also worked to improve Japan's relationship with China and is impressed with Hu.
"I received an impression that he is a very sincere individual," Fukuda said Friday in an interview with China Central Television, according to Jiji Press.
But despite the optimism surrounding improved ties, progress in resolving specific disputes seems slow, including over lucrative gas fields in the East China Sea, even though Fukuda said the two countries believed "a solution is in sight".
China's clampdown in Tibet has overshadowed Hu's visit, with thousands of protesters demonstrating in Tokyo on his arrival Tuesday. On Thursday, more than 100 protesters waved Tibetan flags on the university campus where Hu gave a speech.
Tibet's government-in-exile says more than 200 people have been killed in the Chinese crackdown. China denies this and instead blames Tibetan "rioters" and "insurgents" for killing 21 people.
Fukuda said he raised the Tibet issue with Hu and asked him to lift "international concerns" on Tibet as he hopes for a successful Beijing Olympics.
Japan also said that China had agreed to a resumption of a regular dialogue on human rights, which had been suspended since 2000.
"Hu earned a diplomatic point as he drew Fukuda's offer of cooperation for the success of the Beijing Olympics," said Akira Ishii, professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo.
"Fukuda... may face criticism in Japan for that," he said.
- AFP/vm
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