BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Japanese youth celebrated the opening ceremony of the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth here on Saturday afternoon, marking the official launch of the year-long exchange program.

President Hu Jintao met with principal members of the 1,000-strong Japanese delegation at Beijing's Renmin University and watched a calligraphy show and tea ceremony given by the Chinese and Japanese youth.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (4th L) attends a calligraphy show with representatives from both China and Japan during the opening ceremony of the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth at Renmin University in Beijing, March 15, 2008.(Xinhua Photo/Lan Hongguang)

They were the first foreign delegate Hu has met since being re-elected as Chinese president on Saturday morning.

During the meeting, Hu told Yotaro Kobayashi, the chief Japanese member of the new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship, that it accords with the fundamental interests of both countries to develop a good-neighborly relationship of long-term stability.

He pledged to expand cooperation with Japan and further develop mutually-beneficial ties based on common strategic interests.

"I am looking forward to the coming visit to Japan, and hope our two countries could lay out the future of the bilateral relations through the visit."

Kobayashi said Hu showed great enthusiasm for the Japan-China ties and he placed high hopes on the youth by showing up at the ceremony amid his tight agenda during the annual parliamentary session.

He also delivered a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to Hu.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (1st R) waters a tree with a Japanese representative after planting it during the opening ceremony of the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth at Renmin University in Beijing, March 15, 2008. (Xinhua Photo/Lan Hongguang)

After the meeting, Hu attended an art performance and talked to some of the 2,008 youngsters present -- 1,008 from China and 1,000Japan.

"I love staying with youth, not only due to my working experience in youth affairs, but because youth are the hopes and future of the world," he told youngsters at Renmin University stadium.

Recalling the China visit of 3,000 Japanese youngsters in 1984, Hu said such friendship was the basis of the China-Japan friendly ties and should be started with youth exchanges.

He called on youth from both countries to make extensive exchanges and make contributions for the future.

Later on, Hu, together with young representatives from both countries, planted sakura and yulan trees on campus.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda also both sent congratulatory messages to the ceremony.

The Japanese delegation, who arrived in China on Monday, was led by Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Osamu Uno.

The delegation consists of 500 high school students, 200 university students and 300 young representatives from various walks of life such as parliamentarians, government officials, businessmen and journalists.

Breaking into small groups, they respectively visited such cities as Shanghai and Hangzhou in the east, Chongqing and Chengduin the west, Guangzhou in the south, Dalian and Shenyang in the northeast and held get-togethers with their Chinese peers before their arrival in Beijing on Friday.

The China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth was created last year by Wen and Fukuda when the two met over lunch in Singapore at the Asian Summit in November. A memorandum of understanding on the youth exchange year was signed during Fukuda's China visit in December.

It also marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty.

A series of youth exchange activities will be conducted over the course of the year in the fields of culture, academia, environmental protection, science and technology, media, tourism, film and television.

Chinese youth will visit Japan later in the year.

Source: Xinhua