Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday, starting a five-day "warm spring" trip to Japan aimed at boosting the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between China and Japan.

Chinese President Hu Jintao(L) arrives in Tokyo, Japan, May 6, 2008. Hu begins his five-day "warm spring" trip to Japan aimed at boosting the strategic and mutually beneficial relationships between China and Japan as of Tuesday.

Hu's state visit to Japan is the first by a Chinese president in 10 years.

During his visit, the Chinese president is expected to meet with Japan's Emperor Akihito and hold talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Sino-Japanese relations and other issues of common concern.

Hu will also have broad contacts with leaders of Japan's parliament and political parties and people from all circles, Chinese diplomats said.

In an interview with Japanese journalists on Sunday, the Chinese president described his trip to Japan as one in a "warm spring" and he wished for a "warm spring for the friendship between the two peoples."

Hu said his visit to Japan was aimed at enhancing mutual trust, friendship and cooperation, making programs for the future, and comprehensively pushing forward bilateral strategic and reciprocal relations.

Hu's visit to Japan is seen as a step to further improve the once-chilly Sino-Japanese relationship, which started to warm with the "ice-breaking" visit by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to China in October 2006. That event was followed by the "ice-thawing" Japan trip by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last April and Fukuda's "spring-herald" visit to China last December.

Sino-Japanese relations now are improving further. The leaders of the two countries have maintained frequent contacts, and cooperation in politics, trade, culture and defense has made remarkable achievements. The two countries have also conducted close consultations on global issues like climate change and sustainable development.

The economies of the two countries are deeply intertwined. China was Japan's top trading partner last year while Japan was China's third largest with two-way trade amounting to 236 billion U.S. dollars. Japan's accumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) in China has reached 60.7 billion dollars, which makes Japan China's second-largest foreign investment source.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and the two countries observe the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of Youth in 2008.

At a press conference on April 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China hopes that Hu's visit to Japan could enhance political trust, deepen practical cooperation in various fields and expand people-to-people exchanges, in a bid to jointly promote strategic and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.

"The improvement and development of the Sino-Japanese relationship is in the fundamental interests of both peoples and also conducive to peace, stability and development in Asia. We are ready to make joint efforts with Japan to further the relationship," Jiang said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2008)