Comment on "Students use hugs to ease Sino-Japanese tensions" (China Daily, April 17)

It was heartening to read about six Japanese students of Peking University going on a "hugging campaign" to ease tensions between China and Japan. The Japanese students' action should encourage more people on both sides to promote mutual trust and friendship.

The students are representative of the friendly attitude people on both sides have for each other. People-to-people interaction is crucial for the improvement of Sino-Japanese ties, especially in these times of escalating tensions between the two sides.

Not only the governments, but also the people of the two countries - which have a long history of interactions and a short one of war - should try to find how the Sino-Japanese dispute can be resolved.

What the Japanese student Watanabe Kohei, who started the hugging campaign, was quoted as saying in the report is quite true. Many Japanese media reports on China are biased and can't reflect the real picture. Indeed, seeing is believing. If people of the two countries do not have a good knowledge about each other and each other's country, they could be easily swayed by biased reports and bilateral disputes.

People-to-people diplomacy is important for state-to-state relations. As a common Chinese citizen, I welcome Japanese people to deepen their understanding about China. And Chinese people should try to figure out what Japan is really like, because understanding is the first and most important step toward solving a problem.

Xiao Lin, via e-mail

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