History will play a major role in deciding the course of Sino-Japanese bilateral ties, said Chen Jian, a former Chinese ambassador to Japan, at the Fifth Beijing-Tokyo Forum here yesterday.

"The Chinese are very concerned about how the Japanese feel about Japan's aggression toward China during World War II," Chen said.

A recent survey revealed that nearly half of the Japanese respondents felt the public in China had "overreacted" to the aggression that occurred decades ago.