ZHANJIANG, China, June 24 (Reuters) - China was due to receive its first visit by a Japanese warship since World War II on Tuesday in a military exchange aimed at putting relations between the former bitter enemies on a firmer footing.

The destroyer Sazanami was to dock in Zhanjiang, a tightly guarded Chinese naval port in the southern province of Guangdong, for a five-day port call following the docking of a Chinese naval missile destroyer in Japan in November.

Foreign journalists and the general public have been barred access to the Chinese naval installation.

Japan invaded and occupied parts of China from 1931 to 1945, and relations are still overshadowed by animosities stemming from Japanese wartime atrocities.

Chinese President Hu Jintao was dogged on a state visit to Japan in May by protests over Beijing's crackdown on riots in Tibet. And Japan's offer to transport relief supplies to victims of China's devastating May 12 earthquake on a military flight was abandoned after a flood of Chinese Internet users reacted angrily to the proposal.

But ties have been generally been improving, with Hu's visit leading to an agreement over the development of natural gas in disputed waters in the the East China Sea.

Any warming of Sino-Japanese military ties will be sure to catch the attention of self-ruled Taiwan, a former Japanese colony which China's Communist authorities claim as a breakaway province.

An editorial in the state-run China Daily admitted the ship's visit might cause "controversy". But more dialogue was needed to "help build trust and dispel each other's doubts" given the lack of engagement since the normalisation of relations in 1972.

"With Chinese and Japanese naval destroyers' visits to each other, the two countries are believed to have achieved reconciliation on military matters," it said.

So Jun-fai, a 32-year-old home appliances sales manager, said he still felt resentment towards the Japanese.

"But if the Japanese warship is coming for a commercial reason and in friendship, then I welcome it," he said.

For others in Zhanjiang, some with relatives who recall Imperial Army atrocities, the opening up of their home port to a Japanese warship brought out often divided feelings.

"I'm Chinese and the fact remains they (the Japanese) hurt us once," said Wang Qun, a diner at a roadside restaurant serving dog meat.

"It's something belonging to past generations. We shouldn't remember but in my heart there's still something like a shadow." (Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Nick Macfie)

AlertNet news is provided by