Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

Co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA), the People’s Government of Hunan Province (PGHP) and Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA), and organized by Hunan People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (HPAFFC), the fifteenth China-Japan Friendly Exchange Conference was held in Changsha, Hunan Province on November 7th. More than 230 people including Mr. Tang Jiaxuan, President of CJFA, Mr. Xu Dazhe, Acting Governor of Hunan Province, Mr. Xiang Lili, Vice Governor of Hunan Province, Mr. Song Jingwu, Vice President of CPAFFC, Mr. UICHIRO NIWA, President of JCFA, Mr. TETSUO SAKAI and Mr. TOKUICHIRO UTSUNOMIYA Vice Presidents of JCFA and representatives from nongovernmental organizations of the two countries and local associations for friendship with foreign countries, attended the conference.

President Tang Jiaxuan stressed in his speech at the opening ceremony that the curren t cause of China-Japan friendship is not only the extension of the two thousand years history of the friendly exchanges between the two countries, but also relates to the happiness of the generations to come. Therefore, the two countries should overcome difficulties and firmly promote the bilateral relations with confidence. Whatever the situation is, the two countries could not forget the original purpose of friendship, could not abandon the idea of friendship and lay down the flag of friendship.

President Tang Jiaxuan said that people-to-people friendship is always the unique advantage and important support for China- Japan relations. Every time the bilateral ties confront with difficulties, the non-governmental friendship organizations of the two countries always adhere to the original purpose and promote and protect the general situation of the friendly relations of the two countries. Next year will mark the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties and the year next, the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of treaty of peace and friendship between China and Japan, which is a rare historical opportunity for improving the bilateral relations. The nongovernmental organizations of the two countries should actively take this opportunity and make a plan as soon as possible to further strengthen the people-to-people friendly exchanges of the two countries and make new efforts to develop a better future for China and Japan relations.

Acting Governor Xu Dazhe said that Hunan province has always kept frequent exchanges and close cooperation with Japan in the history. Since 1982, Hunan province has successively established friendship provinces/prefectures relationship with Hiroshima prefecture and Tokushima prefecture. 11 pairs of friendship cities were established. Hunan province will take this conference as an opportunity to further deepen the friendly exchange and economic and trade cooperation of both sides. It strives to promote mutual understanding, build mutual trust and develop friendship during the exchange and cooperation.

President UICHIRO NIWA said that, as the second and third largest economic entities in the world, Japan and China keep a good relationship and strengthen the cooperation, which are not only beneficial to the development of the two countries, but also are beneficial to the peace and stability of Asia and the world. At present, it is worried that the feelings of the two peoples have not been improved even if the bilateral relations get better. Both sides should review the original purpose of keeping friendly relations which produced in the period of signing four political documents and should take the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China and Japan diplomatic relations as an opportunity to greatly develop the exchanges between the two peoples and the locals, and to enhance the public mutual trust and friendship, so as to lay a solid foundation for the long-term sustainable development of the bilateral ties.

As the representatives of the two organizations hosting the conference, CPAFFC Vice President Song Jingwu and JCFA Vice-President TOKUICHIRO UTSUNOMIYA respectively made reports on the theme of inheriting the tradition of the friendship, inspiring the vitality of the people. They summarized the results had achieved in the nongovernmental exchanges of both sides since the fourteenth Osaka Conference. The representatives from the two countries held friendly and exciting discussions in their own group meetings on the topics of how to enhance the mutual trust and friendship of the two peoples, expand the youth exchange and strengthen the local pragmatic cooperation and etc. They also held an in-depth discussion on how to make the friendly development plan of the non-governmental organizations

China-Japan friendly exchange conference was founded in 1983. It was a working conference for the two non-governmental friendly organizations which was commonly initiated and held by Mr. Liao Chengzhi, then the CJFA President and Mr. TOKUMA UTSUNOMIYA,then the JCFA President. This conference aims at strengthening the friendly cooperation of the two countries, commonly discussing the new issues of the bilateral relations and creating a new prospect of the nongovernmental exchanges between China and Japan. The conference is held in two countries every other year in turn.