Most Chinese and Japanese citizens continue to believe that China-Japan relations are very important, hoping for peaceful coexistence and shared development, a poll released here Friday shows.
However, the survey, conducted by China International Publishing Group and Genron NPO, a Japanese think tank, also reveals that in both countries, positive views of the other nation remain at low levels.
The poll results were based on valid answers from 1,587 Chinese respondents living in 10 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, as well as 1,000 Japanese respondents nationwide.
Some 70.8 percent of Chinese respondents said they believe that bilateral relations are "important" or "very important," a very slight increase from the 70.1 percent in 2015, while 70.4 percent of the Japanese respondents hold the same view.
A total of 75.8 percent of Chinese respondents and 64.7 percent of Japanese respondents believe or hold hope that China and Japan could coexist peacefully and develop together.
Meanwhile, 78.2 percent of Chinese respondents said bilateral ties are currently in a "very bad" or "bad" situation, up 11 percentage points from 2015, while 71.9 percent of Japanese respondents hold the same view, almost unchanged from the level last year.
Territorial disputes, maritime resource conflicts and historical issues remain major obstacles to bilateral relations.
The poll shows that 65.3 percent of Chinese respondents and 66.6 percent of Japanese respondents believe that territorial disputes are a major obstacle to bilateral relations, while 30.9 percent of Chinese respondents and 35.4 percent of Japanese respondents believe maritime resource conflicts hurt bilateral ties.
As for how to address historical issues between the two countries, the survey shows that most preferable solution among Chinese respondents is that Japan shall respect the verdict of history on its aggression war.
On bilateral ties, Chinese respondents think the most important thing is to restore political trust, while Japanese respondents prefer strengthening cooperation on global issues such as environmental issue.
The survey is an annual project of Beijing-Tokyo Forum which was launched in 2005. This year's forum, scheduled to open in Tokyo on Sept. 27, will have over 600 guests and representatives from China and Japan attending.
