TOKYO, May 6: President Hu Jintao on Tuesday started the first visit by a Chinese leader to Japan in 10 years as the Asian powers eased decades of tension.

Just three years after relations hit rock bottom, Hu has said his trip would herald a “warm spring” with Japan, which is a top commercial partner despite the lingering resentments of many Chinese over Tokyo’s past aggression.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura went to Tokyo’s Haneda airport to greet Hu, who smiled and waved as more than 200 Chinese people chanted “Welcome! Welcome!” and offered him bouquets of flowers.

“Japan and China are both important countries in Asia and the world,” Hu said in a statement issued on arrival. “Through this visit, I hope to increase mutual trust, reinforce our friendship and deepen our cooperation.” But while Japan and China have been working for years to repair ties, the visit threatens to be overshadowed by unrest in Tibet.

It is Hu’s first overseas visit since major protests broke out in Tibet in March against China’s rule.

Thousands of police were on hand to ensure security, keeping Hu out of sight of Japanese nationalists who drove vans across Tokyo blaring anti-Chinese slogans.

As Hu had dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in one of Tokyo’s main parks, riot police formed a human chain and shoved back demonstrators who chanted anti-Hu slogans.

“If Prime Minister Fukuda’s meeting with President Hu Jintao is a mere formality, that means that we are accomplices in China’s crimes in Tibet,” opposition lawmaker Yukio Edano told the rally.

The five-day visit will be Hu’s longest trip to a single foreign country since he took power in 2003 and only the second ever by a Chinese head of state to Japan. But the trip was expected to be largely about symbolism, with Hu slated to show his hand at table tennis and pandas also on the agenda.

During dinner with Fukuda, Hu offered to lend a pair of giant pandas to Japan, officials said. A statement from the Japanese prime minister’s office said Fukuda “expressed his gratitude for the offer.” Fukuda had asked China if Japan could borrow some giant pandas after Ling Ling, one of the best-loved animals at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, died of old age last week. In a sharp contrast to previous summits between Japan and China, both sides have signalled that emotionally charged rows over history will be left on the back burner.—AFP