Every time China and Japan have made substantial progress in their relations, the two neighbors have invariably witnessed large-scale people and cultural exchanges, so there is enough reason to think the first meeting of the China-Japan high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people and cultural exchanges, attended by State Councilor Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, in Tokyo on Monday, will be a marker for a continuing thaw in their ties.

The exchange mechanism is certainly more than just a diplomatic gesture. The congratulatory letters President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent to each other on the occasion highlight that it is a shared commitment of the two leaders, based on the shared belief, as Wang said, that now is the time to "pass on the momentum of the betterment of bilateral ties" to the people of both countries.

In accordance with nine similar "high-level" human-cultural exchange mechanisms China has established with other economies and the European Union, the mechanism will form a comprehensive network of exchange channels covering education, science and technology, culture, tourism and youth.

That is to say, under the framework of the mechanism, the people-to-people exchanges between the two neighbors, which already have a solid basis — last year people from the two countries paid 12 million visits to each other's country, and more than 1,400 flights shuttled between the two countries each week — will gain more institutional support from the two governments.

The intensive bilateral economic and trade cooperation — last year, bilateral trade surged by 6.8 percent year-on-year to $318 billion — provide a solid material foundation for these networks.

So as long as Tokyo maintains a watchful eye on the submerged rocks of its historical issues and navigates them by facing up to them squarely, there is no reason why stable Japan-China relations cannot be the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in Asia.

Meeting with Wang on Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphasized his desire to keep relations on the right track, saying that he will engage in further in-depth communication with Chinese leaders on bilateral ties when he visits China next month to attend the China-Japan-Republic of Korea leaders' meeting.

Wang, on his part, said that it is thanks to the political guidance of the two leaders and joint efforts of both sides that relations have returned to the right track. But he stressed that sound momentum has not come easily and it should be cherished.

With that in mind, the two sides should adopt a broader long-term perspective and give full play to people-to-people exchanges to ensure a sustainable new era of friendly, cooperative relations.