After the meeting, Hu attended an art performance and talked to some of the 2,008 youngsters present – 1,008 from China and 1,000 Japan.

"I love staying with youth, not only due to my working experience in youth affairs, but because youth are the hopes and future of the world," he told youngsters at Renmin University stadium.

Recalling the China visit of 3,000 Japanese youngsters in 1984, Hu said such friendship was the basis of the China-Japan friendly ties and should be started with youth exchanges.

He called on youth from both countries to make extensive exchanges and make contributions for the future.

Later on, Hu, together with young representatives from both countries, planted sakura and yulan trees on campus.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda also both sent congratulatory messages to the ceremony.

The Japanese delegation, who arrived in China on Monday, was led by Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Osamu Uno.

The delegation consists of 500 high school students, 200 university students and 300 young representatives from various walks of life such as parliamentarians, government officials, businessmen and journalists.

Breaking into small groups, they respectively visited such cities as Shanghai and Hangzhou in the east, Chongqing and Chengduin the west, Guangzhou in the south, Dalian and Shenyang in the northeast and held get-togethers with their Chinese peers before their arrival in Beijing on Friday.