67 percent of Chinese respondents and 72.7 percent of Japanese respondents view the bilateral relationship between the two countries as important or relatively important, according to a survey released on Oct. 24.

Conducted by the China International Publishing Group and the Japanese nonprofit think tank Genron NPO, the survey has been conducted every year since 2005, serving as a key channel for enhancing understanding between China and Japan.

Seventy-three percent of Chinese respondents believe people-to-people exchanges are important or relatively important to bilateral ties. The proportion among Japanese respondents reached 62.3 percent.

More respondents from both countries consider enhancing mutual trust between governments an effective way to strengthen China-Japan relations.

38.7 percent of Chinese respondents held this belief, 12.7 percentage points higher than that the previous year. The proportion among Japanese respondents rose to 43.6 percent, up 4.5 percentage points from 2018.

Additionally, 86.6 percent of Chinese respondents think that local media can help to improve bilateral ties and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples, while the proportion is 26.9 percent among Japanese respondents.

A majority of respondents agree on the principles of peace, cooperation and development, which lay the foundations of public support for further stability in China-Japan relations.