Beijing-Tokyo Forum lightening rod for change

Zhu Ling, editor-in-chief of China Daily, gives his keynote speech during the opening ceremony of the eighth Beijing-Tokyo Forum in Tokyo on July 2, 2012. [Photo/China Daily]

The Beijing-Tokyo forum is expected to help people from China and Japan enhance mutual understanding and trust, Zhu Ling, editor-in-chief of China Daily said at the opening ceremony of the forum on Monday. 

Zhu has spoken of the Beijing-Tokyo Forum being formed in the hardest times for Sino-Japan relations during his keynote speech to the eighth conference.

Started in 2005 to enhance understanding on both sides, and to improve the friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people, Zhu Ling said the aim of the forum is to enlarge common ground by persistent communication and discussion.

He added that although people from both sides have kept at a distance according to the annual survey conducted by the forum, we can still feel citizens of the two countries are concerned about each other.

Government and non-governmental organizations from China and Japan immediately offered a helping hand to each other following China's Wenchuan earthquake and Japan's earthquake and tsunami, which Zhu Ling said embodied the deep sympathy and humanism that goes beyond borders and nationalities.

The forum also offers an effective platform of communication and the opportunity to clear-up misunderstandings, which goes beyond social systems, culture, tradition, and the different stages of development, Zhu said.