ＪＣＳ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｔａｋｅｓｈｉ Ｎｏｄａ ａｎｄ ｈｉｓ Ｐａｒｔｙ Ｖｉｓｉｔ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA)， an 18-member delegation of the Japan-China Society (JCS) headed by Takeshi Noda， member of the Japanese House of Representatives and president of the JCS， paid a visit to Beijing from February 18 to 20， 2004. Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong and State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan respectively met with Takeshi Noda and his party.

Vice President Zeng Qinghong Meeting With the Delegation

On the morning of February 20， Zeng Qinghong， member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese vice president， met with Takeshi Noda and his party in the Great Hall of the People. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi， CPAFFC Vice President Chen Yongchang and Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami were present at the meeting.

Vice President Zeng first expressed his welcome to the delegation’s visit to China and spoke highly of the contribution to the development of Sino-Japanese friendly relations made by Takeshi Noda and the JCS over the years.

Zeng Qinghong said， the development of Sino-Japanese relations is， on the whole， good. Particularly since the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries， through concerted efforts of the governments and the people of various circles of the two countries， exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the political， economic， cultural， sports， educational， scientific and technological areas have made steady development. In the economic and trade field， last year bilateral trade volume surpassed US$ 130 billion， 130 times more than that before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Economic and trade cooperation have been greatly developed both in quantity and quality and both in width and depth. Inter-dependence of the two countries in this area is continuously increasing， bringing substantial benefits to the people of both countries， playing a positive role in helping China’s economy maintain a sustained， healthy and steady development， and in promoting resurgence of the Japanese economy. At the same time， personnel exchanges between the two countries have increased by hundreds of times compared with those at the time when the two countries just established diplomatic ties.

Zeng said， Both China and Japan are important countries in Asia. To develop friendly relations between the two countries will contribute to peace and stability in Asia and the world at large.

Zeng continued to point out， when seeing the development of Sino-Japanese relations， we should also see that there still exist many problems; particularly the history and Taiwan issues still from time to time bring difficulties to and obstruct the healthy development of bilateral relations. The Chinese Government has， as always， stressed that politically， the two countries should strengthen mutual trust， economically， deepen cooperation of mutual benefits and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples in the spirit of “drawing lessons from history and looking to the future” and on the basis of the principles set in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and other two political documents signed between the two countries. We believe that through concerted efforts of the governments and people of various circles of the two countries， we will surely overcome difficulties， remove obstructions and carry on the great cause of Sino-Japanese friendship initiated by the statesmen of the older generation of the two countries.

On the bilateral relations， Takeshi Noda said， the two countries should respect each other， make joint efforts and contribute to the regional development. He praised the rapid development of China’s economy， and said， the attraction of the Chinese economy as a huge market to Japan is increasing year by year， and inter-dependence of the two economies is also increasing. The problems that exist in the bilateral economic relations should be solved through concerted efforts.

State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan Meetingwith Takeshi Noda

On the afternoon of February 19， State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with Takeshi Noda and his party. Tang said， people-to-people friendly exchanges between the two countries have always been an important aspect of Sino-Japanese friendship. Before and after the two countries normalized diplomatic relations， people-to-people friendly activities， which are also called nongovernmental diplomacy due to their specific characteristics， played an important role in developing Sino-Japanese relations. Under the present specific situation， people-to-people friendly exchanges are very important. He hoped that nongovernmental organizations of the two countries would carry forward the tradition of friendship and continue to make efforts to promote the healthy development of Sino-Japanese friendly relations. Tang said， the cause of Sino-Japanese friendship needs successors. He hoped that the JCS would often organize personages of various circles especially Japanese young politicians to visit China.

Takeshi Noda expressed his thanks to State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan for meeting with them. He said， people-to-people exchanges are becoming increasingly important. Most members of the delegation have made investments or have cooperative projects in China. Some have met a few problems in the cooperation. They hoped to deepen mutual understanding between them and the Chinese side through this visit.

CJFA President Song Jian Meeting and

Entertaining the Delegation

On the evening of February 18， CJFA President Song Jian met with and entertained Takeshi Noda and his party. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu was present.

Song Jian said， since the normalization of the diplomatic relations， the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the political， economic and cultural areas have developed greatly， which indicates that the principle of Sino-Japanese friendship set by the leaders of the older generation of the two countries is correct. Facts have proved that Japan has made contribution to the development of China’s economy， and that China has also made contribution to the development of Japan’s economy. The cause of Sino-Japanese friendship has bright prospects and conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said， the friendship between the two countries has brought substantial benefits to the people of both countries. To develop Sino-Japanese friendship is the common aspiration of the two peoples. Both China and Japan should grasp the theme of Sino-Japanese friendship and the general orientation of the development of bilateral relations.

Takeshi Noda thanked the CPAFFC for its warm reception. He said， “When you drink the water， think of those who dug the well.” Since his first visit to China， more than 30 years have passed. Over these years， Sino-Japanese relations have developed greatly in various fields. Since China began reform and opening up， huge achievements have been made in its economic development. The two countries have achieved win-win results in their economic relations.

Takeshi Noda and his party also paid an official call on the International Department of the CPC Central Committee and had talks with the personages concerned of the State Intellectual Property Office.