Public opinion in China and Japan should not be held hostage to radical sentiments, veteranpoliticians and think tank members said on Tuesday.
Sensational online remarks advocating "a major war" or spreading extreme pessimi"represent ideas of the minority" and may mislead the general public, said Zhao Qizheng,former chairman of the foreign affairs committee of China's top political advisory body.
Zhao made the comment at a news conference following a meeting co-hosted by China Dailyand Japan's Genron NPO think tank.
The meeting is a preliminary consultation for the upcoming ninth
Beijing-Tokyo Forum, whichwill begin on Aug 12, the 35th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Peace andFriendship Treaty.
Despite strained Sino-Japanese ties, Zhao is optimistic about the future and said hisconfidence is based on the overwhelming love of peace among the Chinese and Japanese.
Sino-Japanese ties became deadlocked after the Japanese government illegally "purchased"China's Diaoyu Islands in September, a major provocation that flared the territorial dispute andprompted China's strong protests.
Bilateral trade figures and people-to-people exchanges slumped as the standoff continued overthe islands.
"Although there had been ups and downs in the bilateral relationship, the current situation, I'mafraid, is the record low," said Yasushi Akashi, former undersecretary-general of the UnitedNations.
Akashi, who was once in charge of the UN's disarmament and humanitarian affairs, stressedthat nothing can offset the comprehensive shared interests.
Yuji Miyamoto, Japan's ambassador to China from 2006 to 2010, said mainstream voices ofboth sides should focus on the big picture.
"Some politicians make comments to win support from voters, and then their remarks may derailus from our goal," Miyamoto said.
Crisis management
Eliminating negative interaction in the East China Sea is one of the top priorities for Chineseand Japanese governments, experts said.
Akashi, the veteran UN diplomat, said consultants from both sides agreed on a proposal toboost security dialogues and look at building a crisis management mechani.
Noboru Yamaguchi, a professor at the National Defense Academy of Japan, said the twonations should form a "shared code of conduct" on the sea.
A mechani is needed to prevent vessels from colliding, Yamaguchi said.
Washington and Tokyo are now in the final phase of arranging a joint military drill in Junetargeting the retaking of a remote island, Japan's leading television stations and newspapersquoted unnamed government sources as saying.
The drill is planned to boost the allies' capacity in handling the situation if China tries to seizethe Diaoyu Islands, Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper and Fuji Television reported.
The US-Japan contingency operation plan regarding the islands was reported in late March,and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense protested any move that may "aggravate orcomplicate" the situation.
Yamaguchi, also a retired lieutenant general in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, said thetension in the East China Sea has been hyped by the media, and some yses showed alack of professionali.
"The conflicting public moods and some zealous voices between the two neighbors should beput on ice and cooled down," he added.
Li Wei, director of the Institute of Japanese Studies under the Chinese Academy of SocialSciences, said the problems "can be solved in spite of the complicated and difficult status quo".
"The tougher the problems we are faced with, the greater necessity for us to maintain dialoguethrough platforms like the Beijing-Tokyo Forum," Li said.
