An overwhelming majority of Chinese and Japanese people believe relations between their countries are "important", or even "more important than relations with the United States", according to a survey released yesterday.

Almost six in 10 Japanese interviewed for the survey, which was jointly sponsored by China Daily and Genron NPO, said relations with Beijing were as important as those with Washington. Another quarter of interviewees said ties with China were even more important than those with the United States.

Genron NPO, the survey's co-sponsor, is a leading Japanese think tank, similar to the American Council on Foreign Relations.