Vice President Song Jingwu attended and addressed the opening ceremony of 2018 Wuxi International Cherry Blossom Week and the Commemoration of the 31st Anniversary of the China-Japan Cherry Blossom Friendship Forest in Wuxi on March 28, 2018.

Vice President Song Jingwu addresses the opening ceremony

Vice President Song said that after over 30 years of hard work, the China-Japan Cherry Blossom Friendship Forest jointly built by Wuxi and its Japanese partner has not only become China's top destination for cherry blossom viewing, but also a symbol of friendship between China and Japan. The Wuxi International Cherry Blossom Week has become an important cultural event in Wuxi, which has played an important role in promoting urban construction and development as well as pushing forward exchanges and cooperation with other countries. In October last year, the 19th CPC National Congress was successfully convened and the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was introduced. In the new era, it is hoped that Wuxi will continue to use cherry blossom as a media and continuously expand its circle of friends for international exchanges, promote Wuxi’s economic and social development, and carry out friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between China and other countries in more fields and at a higher level, so as to contribute to regional prosperity and world peace, as well as a community with a shared future for mankind.

Mme. Bo Suning, President of Jiangsu People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Mr. Lu Zhijian, Vice Mayor of Wuxi, consul generals of the United States, Japan and other 7 countries in Shanghai, representatives of the Japanese industrial and commercial circles, representatives of Wuxi’s friendship cities and representatives of overseas students in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, totaling over 300 people, attended the opening ceremony.

Photographed by Fu Bo