[HelloHockeyFans]

After years and years of obvious tension between the two countries and Chinese bitterness stemming from the Nanking Massacres by Japanese soldiers in World War II, it's good to see (at least on the surface) that China is willing to finally let the past go and move forward.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7387027.stm

China's President Hu Jintao and Yasuo Fukuda of Japan agreed a blueprint for future ties - including a yearly summit between the nations' leaders.

"We both believe relations between China and Japan are at a new starting point," he said.

China has now overtaken the US as Japan's top trading partner, with bilateral trade increasing 12% last year to $236.6bn.

And analysts say this increasingly important economic relationship has played a vital role in warming the ties between the two nations.