On November 2, 2009, the 5th Beijing-Tokyo Forum (Dalian), co-sponsored by China Daily and Japanese Genron NPO and organized by Dalian Municipal Government, kicked off in Dalian. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo sent congratulatory messages to the forum.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in his congratulatory message that the Beijing-Tokyo Forum gets the insightful people who are active in Japan and China together and offers a platform for them to have active and open discussions on various problems concerning Japan-China relationship. The public opinion survey on Japan-China relationship conducted by the forum annually is becoming the valuable information for the people of the two countries to understand each other.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pointed out that the public opinion survey this year showed that there is still a larger room for improving the people's sentiments toward each other. In his view, the Japan-China relationship may achieve greater development under such a context in the mutually respected friendliness spirit based on the principle of recognizing each other's differences and through the dialogue between the two countries and the expansion of cooperation fields. "I think that the constant accumulation of dialogue and cooperation in this attitude and the further enrichment of the connotations of strategic and mutually beneficial relationship will uplift the Japan-China relationship to a new height."

State Councilor Dai Bingguo said in his congratulatory message that the Beijing-Tokyo Forum has become one of important public exchange platforms between China and Japan. The forum has played an active role in promoting bilateral high-level and non-governmental exchanges, enhancing mutual political trust, strengthening cooperation in economy and trade and reducing existing differences. The results of the joint public opinion survey conducted by the forum organizer annually have offered reference for the people of different communities of the two countries to understand and study the China-Japan relationship.

Dai Bingguo expressed that China and Japan are the important countries in Asia and the world. Under the impact of the international financial crisis, strengthening cooperation will help China and Japan overcome the difficulties together, drive the regional economic growth and play an active role in driving the recovery of global economy. The Beijing-Tokyo Forum this year with the theme of the China-Japan cooperation in the global economic crisis reflected the strategic vision of the forum and will help to consolidate the communication and exchange in promoting pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and advance the coordination and cooperation between the two countries in the regional and global subjects.

The Beijing-Tokyo Forum is a view-exchanging platform among the Chinese and Japanese elites, which is jointly developed by the Chinese media and academic circles and the Japanese non-governmental organizations for the purposes of promoting the development of China-Japan relationship and strengthening the mutual understanding between China and Japan. With the development over the past five years, the forum has become one of the very few public diplomatic platforms between China and Japan, with its influence ever expanding.