Ａｃｔｉｖｉｔｉｅｓ ｉｎ Ｃｅｌｅｂｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ ３０ Ｙｅａｒｓ ｏｆ ＦｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐＣｉｔｙ Ｔｉｅｓ Ｂｅｔｗｅｅｎ Ｔｉａｎｊｉｎ ａｎｄ Ｋｏｂｅ

On June 24， 1973 under the initiation and care of the late Premier Zhou Enlai， Tianjin and Kobe formed the first pair of friendship cities between China and Japan. In the past 30 years， Tianjin and Kobe have carried out successful exchanges and cooperation in various fields and achieved fruitful results.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of friendship city ties between the two cities， following Mayor Dai Xianglong's visit to Kobe in September 2003， a 120-member delegation consisting of personages from the Kobe Municipal Government， the City Assembly and various circles led by Tatsuro Yada， mayor of Kobe， and Yasunori Taji， vice chairman of the Kobe City Assembly， paid a visit to Tianjin from October 19 to 21， and attended celebration activities of great importance.

Meeting Between High-Ranking Leaders of the Two Cities And Holding of Commemoration Meeting

On October 19， Zhang Lichang， member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， and secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the CPC， met with Mayor Tatsuro Yada， Vice Chairman Yasunori Taji and their party. Zhang said， on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the friendship city ties between Tianjin and Kobe， Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sent letters of congratulations， expressing their common aspiration for Sino-Japanese friendship and best wishes to the two friendship cities. Thirty years ago， thanks to Premier Zhou Enlai's care， our two cities twinned friendship cities， initiating the twinning of friendship cities between China and other countries since the founding of new China. Over the past 30 years， constant contacts have been made between the personnel of the two cities， economic and trade cooperation increased， the fields for exchanges continuously expanded， fruitful results achieved in many aspects and profound friendship between the peoples of the two cities forged. In recent years Tianjin has experienced rapid development and great changes， and become one of the areas that have the fastest development in the country. Now we are striving to build Tianjin into an important economic center in China's North and a modern international port metropolis. Zhang Lichang hoped that Tianjin and Kobe would strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and at all levels， and push the existing good relations between the two cities to a new height. Mayor Dai Xianglong， Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress Fang Fengyou and CPAFFC Vice President Chen Yongchang were present at the meeting.

After that the meeting in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of friendship city ties between Tianjin and Kobe was held. At the meeting Premier Wen Jiabao's and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizomi's letters of congratulations were read out. In their speeches at the meeting Mayor Dai Xianglong and Mayor Tatsuro Yada said that the two cities would further deepen mutual understanding and friendship and push all-round exchanges and cooperation in various fields and at multiple levels to a new stage. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， on behalf of the CPAFFC， expressed warm congratulations to the two cities on the 30th anniversary of friendship city ties and presented souvenirs to the two cities. The mayors of the two cities exchanged presents and together with other participants of the meeting watched a documentary film on the history of friendship between Tianjin and Kobe and the development of Tianjin.

On the morning of October 21 State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with Mayor Tatsuro Yada， Vice Chairman Yasunori Taji and the leading members of the delegation in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Abstract of Tang's speech on page 7 \"State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan Meets with Delegation of Kobe\")

To push the friendly relations between the two cities to a new stage， Mayor Dai Xianglong and Mayor Tatsuro Yada held a working meeting and signed the Summary of Talks on the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Friendship City Ties between Tianjin and Kobe. In line with the spirit of the Summary， the two cities will actively promote exchanges and cooperation in the economic， scientific， technological and cultural fields， give full play to the advantages of the two cities to complement each other， and make concerted efforts to promote the economic development of the Northeast Asian region.

Conducting Extensive Exchanges to Deepen Understanding and Friendship

A concert in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of friendship city relations between Tianjin and Kobe sponsored by the Kobe International Musicians' Association was held in the Tianjin Concert Hall. Mayor Dai Xianglong and Mayor Tatsuro Yada attended the concert.

At the concert well-known Japanese pianist John Mart played Brahms's The Second Rhapsody， Beethevon's 23rd Piano Sonata Appassionato and Chinese music such as Xinjiang Dance Music and Beauty Yu. The Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra played The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring and Bach's Piano Concerto in D minor. The Japanese and Chinese artists' excellent performances won warm applause from the audience.

On the morning of October 20 the delegation of Kobe visited the Metabolic Diseases Prevention Cure Center affiliated to the Tianjin Medical University. Initiated and promoted by Professor Shigeaki Baba of Kobe University， honorary president of the International Diabetes Federation and chairman of the executive council of the Federation， the Center was set up in 1998 with medical instruments and equipment worth 504 million Japanese yen aided gratuitously by the Japanese Government and 40 million RMB yuan invested by the Tianjin Municipal Government. The Center has played an important role in raising the general level of China's prevention and cure of metabolic diseases. This time， to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the friendship city ties between the two cities and promote exchanges of personnel and cooperation in scientific researches on the prevention and cure of diabetes， the Tianjin Medical University and the International Institute for Diabetics Education and Study signed an agreement on strengthening cooperation.

After that， the Japanese delegation visited the Photo Exhibition on the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Friendship City Relations between Tianjin and Kobe and the Exhibition of Kaii Higashiyama's Lithograph.

On the afternoon of October 20， Mayor Tatsuro Yada and his party went to the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area and visited the Tianjin Fujitsuten Electronics Co. Ltd. invested by Kobe.

During their stay in Tianjin， members of the delegation from various circles had talks with their Chinese counterparts from the Tianjin Municipal People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， the Tianjin Youth Federation， the Tianjin Women's Federation and the Tianjin Garden Bureau. They happily gathered together， chatted about friendship and discussed exchanges and cooperation in the future， further strengthening mutual understanding and friendship between various circles of the two cities.