Chinese President Hu Jintao said yesterday that his upcoming state visit to Japan will have the atmosphere of a "warm spring".

Hu, who is scheduled to pay the visit from May 6 to 10, made the remarks during an interview with journalists from 16 Japanese media institutions stationed in Beijing.

Hu asked the Japanese media to convey his sincere greetings and good wishes to the Japanese people, and said he wished for a "warm spring for the friendship between the two peoples".

Hu's visit will be the first by a Chinese president to Japan over the past decade and it 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 in April last year and Fukuda's "spring-herald" visit to China last December.

Hu said this year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and fruitful results have been achieved with efforts from both sides in the past three decades.

"The results have brought about substantial benefits to the two peoples and made important contributions to peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world," said Hu.

He said, "Facts have proved that the development of long-term, stable, and good neighborly friendship between China and Japan is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples."

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

"I'm expecting to meet with Japanese Emperor, exchange in-depth views with Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern, and extensive contact with Japanese people from different walks of life," said Hu.

He believed his visit would achieve expected results with efforts from both sides.

Hu said China and Japan, separated by a narrow strip of water, boast an over-2,000-year history of friendly exchanges.

Bilateral friendship had won extensive support from the two peoples, which constituted a firm basis for the further development of friendship.

"It is inevitable to have some problems and it is normal to have different views during the development of bilateral relations," Hu said. "What's more important is that the two sides should handle issues with a candid and sincere attitude, conduct friendly exchanges, seeking common ground while shelving differences, jointly promote people-to-people friendship and jointly safeguard the general situation of the development of bilateral relations.

"The most effective way to enhance friendship between the two peoples is to continuously strengthen the friendly contacts between the two peoples, especially the youth" so as to further mutual understanding and friendship during their contacts and make it their firm belief to achieve peaceful co-existence, friendship from generation to generation, reciprocal cooperation and common development.

A 200-member Chinese youth delegation started a seven-day visit to Japan on Sunday at the invitation of the Japanese government.

The two governments expect exchanges which will involve 4,000 Chinese and Japanese young people each year in the next four years.