China has been attracting much attention in the international community of late for both positive and negative reasons. On the positive side, as the confrontation between the United States and North Korea intensifies, and the positions of Japan and South Korea remain delicate, China is playing the role of mediator in the conflict.

On the negative side, China, which has over one billion people, has had the highest number of severe acute respiratory syndrome patients, highlighting its low living and sanitary standards. Attention has also focused on Beijing's tardiness in responding to the outbreak.

At the same time, however, the new political lineup under President Hu Jintao has been earnestly adopting countermeasures and appears to be limiting the spread of the disease. Indeed, there is the possibility that the outbreak of SARS will give the new administration in Beijing a good opportunity to show its mettle.

Conversely, one wonders what mediation role China will be able to play in the confrontation between the U.S. and North Korea, especially in view of the fact that the crisis involves North Korea's nuclear program, making it a serious international political problem. This will also be a critical opportunity for the new regime in Beijing to display its true worth to the international community.

In these circumstances, the decision to hold a Japan-China summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Hu in St. Petersburg on May 31 is timely. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Taku Yamasaki and the secretary generals of the other two ruling parties in Japan, who are currently visiting China, reached an agreement on the meeting in talks with Hu.

The Japan-China summit is significant for two reasons. First, it will be worth watching to see how Japan and South Korea -- which have been left on the sidelines -- will become involved in ongoing negotiations among China, the U.S. and North Korea. Second, and even more importantly, it will be worth watching to see what kind of Sino-Japanese relationship Koizumi and Hu will forge.

A prominent Chinese commentator who is presently in Japan made an interesting analysis of the situation. "The transition from the era of President Jiang Zemin to the new regime of President Hu will definitely work well for relations between Japan and China," he said. "The reason is that Jiang's generation experienced the Japanese invasion during their youth and have bad memories of that time, but the younger generation of President Hu does not harbor such feelings. That is the course of history. In other words, the Hu generation will be able to have new thoughts about Japan. In addition, the Koizumi generation is older than the Hu generation but younger than the generation of former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone or Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, so it can also have new thoughts about China."

This comment is very important. Koizumi has been rather inconsistent in his actions, deciding to visit Yasukuni Shrine and then suddenly changing course and reflecting on Japan's war responsibility, but he has made almost no affirmative statements about Japan's deeds in the war. The leaders of both Japan and China at last might be ready to show a bit of historical wisdom.

The Chinese commentator's analysis gave me hope that the upcoming Japan-China summit might lead to a new era in bilateral relations. Let us pray that this hope does not vanish in thin air.