The "two tigers" in the region can coexist as long as they make efforts to be friends with each other, said Akashi Yasushi, former United Nations undersecretary-general, on Monday.
The results of a survey show that the overwhelming majority of people in China and Japan have never visited the other country, and they rely on news reports to learn about each other.
State Councilor Dai Bingguo described the Seventh Beijing-Tokyo Forum, which concluded on Monday, as a big success.
Japan will further relax its visa policy and provide more convenient services to attract more tourists from the Chinese mainland, said Hiroshi Mizohata, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency.
The Japanese ambassador to China said the people of China and Japan should not get entangled in the past if they want to forge stronger relations.
China may achieve a trade balance next year, as weakening demand from the US and the EU will hit exports while imports are set to grow.
China and Japan should accelerate their talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) and strengthen technical cooperation in new energy and environmental protection to achieve sustainable development.
China's cities should be given help to improve disaster preparation and response systems, as populous areas are becoming increasingly vulnerable to catastrophes.
China and Japan must work together to promote mutual trust and common security, and should establish a crisis management mechanism to prevent unexpected maritime incidents souring relations, former Chinese state councilor Tang Jiaxuan said on Sunday.
Japan should not take China's development of its first aircraft carrier as threat, Japan's former defense chief said at a forum in Beijing on Sunday afternoon.
Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa called for strengthening Japan-China relations with courage and determination.
Zhao Jiaqi, president of Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said Beijing hopes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Tokyo in a broad range of areas.