CHINESE President Hu Jintao said in Beijing Sunday that his coming State visit to Japan would have the atmosphere of a "warm spring."

Hu, who is scheduled to visit from today to May 10, made the remarks during an interview with journalists from 16 Japanese media institutions stationed in Beijing.

Hu asked the Japanese media to convey his sincere greetings and good wishes to the Japanese people, saying he wished for a "warm spring for friendship between the two peoples."

Hu's visit will be the first to Japan by a Chinese president in the past decade and it is seen as a step toward further improving the once chilly Sino-Japanese relationship. Relations began improving with the "ice-breaking" visit by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to China in October 2006. That was followed by the "ice-thawing" Japan trip by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in April last year and Fukuda's "spring-herald" visit to China last December.

Hu said this year marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and fruitful results had been achieved with efforts from both sides in the past three decades. (Xinhua)