People-to-people Exchanges Expected to Help Improve Strained China-Japan Ties

Japanese delegates taste Chinese food at the conference celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-China Friendship Association in Beijing, capital of China, on Oct. 15, 2010. The conference was co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, China-Japan Friendship Association and Japan-China Friendship Association. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) - Members from friendship associations of China and Japan on Friday voiced their hope for people-to-people exchanges to help improve strained China-Japan relations after recent disputes.

The proposal was launched at a conference held in the Great Hall of the People to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA), a friendly group established on Oct. 1, 1950 with the view to promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between the two peoples and promote bilateral exchanges and trade.

"Friendly groups should take the 60th anniversary as a new starting point to deepen friendly exchanges between the two countries, especially between the youth, and contribute to the China-Japan strategic relationship of reciprocity," said President of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA) Song Jian. He also spoke highly of the contribution made by the JCFA for the development of China-Japan relations.

People-to-people exchanges have always played an important role in the history of bilateral relations. It not only helped the two countries normalize ties but also improve the bilateral relations when they were strained by some issues such as the visits paid by former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro to the Yasukuni Shrine.

Regarding the recent friction between the two countries caused by a ship collision, people-to-people exchanges were expected to play a role again.

Two Japanese Coast Guard patrol ships and a Chinese trawler collided on Sept. 7 in the waters off the Diaoyu Islands. Japan's subsequent illegal detention of the Chinese trawler and crew members resulted in strong protests from the Chinese government and public. China then halted bilateral exchanges at and above provincial and ministerial levels. The crew and the boat were released after the Chinese side took some countermeasures.

"China and Japan are neighboring countries separated by only a thin strip of water. People of the two countries boast a 2000-year history of friendly exchanges. The good-neighboring relationship between China and Japan is not only in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but also conducive to the peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world at large," Song said.

He added that the history of the 20th century proved that it is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples to maintain peaceful coexistence, friendship lasting for generations, reciprocal cooperation and common development.

"It is a long-term and hard task to promote the development of the China-Japan friendship, and it needs the efforts from both sides," Song said.

For his part, JCFA's vice chairman Shoichi Ide also pledged to make efforts to deepen mutual understanding between the two countries.

Japan and China are facing a new situation to further deepen the bilateral strategic relations. The JCFA will take the 60th anniversary as an opportunity to actively carry out exchange activities and promote friendship between the two countries, he said.

At the gathering, 30 people from the JCFA who have made remarkable contributions for the China-Japan friendship were awarded.

Photo taken on Oct. 15, 2010 shows some delegates awarded "China-Japan Friendship Contribution Prize" at the conference celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-China Friendship Association in Beijing, capital of China. The conference was co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, China-Japan Friendship Association and Japan-China Friendship Association. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Officials from the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Chinese governmental departments and the two friendly associations also attended the conference.

Song Jian (R), president of the China-Japan Friendship Association, toasts with Ide Shoichi, vice chairman of Japan-China Friendship Association, at the conference celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-China Friendship Association in Beijing, capital of China, on Oct. 15, 2010. The conference was co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, China-Japan Friendship Association and Japan-China Friendship Association. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Source: Xinhua