Ｅｌｅｖｅｎｔｈ Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ ｏｎ Ｓｉｎｏ－Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｌｙ Ｅｘｃｈａｎｇｅｓ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｃｈｅｎｇｄｕ

The 11th Conference on Sino-Japanese Friendly Exchanges jointly sponsored by the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA)， the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA) and the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SIFA) was held in Chengdu from May 23 to 24. This was a large-sized meeting held by the nongovernmental organizations of the two countries in the wake of Premier Wen Jiabao’s successful visit to Japan in April.The theme of the conference was “Sino-Japanese Strategic Relations of Mutual Benefit and the Role of Nongovernmental Exchanges”. Song Jian， president of the CJFA， Jing Dunquan， vice president of the CJFA， Jiang Jufeng， governor of Sichuan Province， Huang Xiaoxiang， deputy governor of Sichuan Province， Chen Jie， vice chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， Qin Lin， president of the SIFA， and Hiromu Nonaka，honorary adviser to the JCFA and former chief of Cabinet Secretariat， among about 200 representatives， attended the conference.

In his speech at the opening ceremony， Song Jian said， under the situation when the premiers of the two countries have paid successful visits to each other’s country and the two countries reached consensus on the contents， framework and main tasks of the strategic relations of mutual benefits to be established between the two countries， and the Sino-Japanese relations gain the momentum of improvement and development， the convening of the conference has great significance in promoting people-to-people exchanges and healthy development of the bilateral relations. The year 2007 marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and the Year of China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchanges. The nongovernmental friendship organizations of the two countries should have new thinking on friendly activities， implement the consensus reached by the heads of government of the two countries from the nongovernmental angle， promote the healthy and steady development of bilateral relations based on the principles set by the three political documents including the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement， and realize the lofty goals of “peaceful coexistence， lasting friendship， mutually beneficial cooperation and common development”. This is conducive to deepening mutual trust and friendship between the two peoples and in keeping with the fundamental interests of the two peoples.

Hiromu Nonaka said in his speech， Premier Wen’s successful visit to Japan last month has achieved important results and is welcomed by the majority of the Japanese people. Japan-China relations now face a completely new situation. The governments of the two countries have signed various kinds of agreements on cooperation centering on the establishment of strategic relations of mutual benefit between the two countries. It is really gratifying that the spring breeze of friendly cooperation blows again and everybody is happy. But， we should not forget that in Japan there are still some forces that do not want to see the improvement and new development of the relations between the two countries. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations and the Year of China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchanges， and also the 70th anniversary of the Lugouqiao Incident and Nanjing Incident. The colonial rule and aggression that Japan carried out in a period of the past brought tremendous losses and sufferings to the people of China， the Korean peninsula and various Asian countries. The people of Japan， China and various Asian countries who suffered enough from the war earnestly long for peace and stability. Today， after seventy years， we should continue to keep a modest attitude， learn from history， strengthen friendly forces， resolutely fight against the forces that attempt to hinder Japan-China friendship and strive to maintain the hard-won friendly relations between the two countries.

CJFA Vice President Jing Dunquan made a key-note speech on behalf of the Chinese side. He reviewed Sino-Japanese relations and the nongovernmental exchanges in the past two years， saying， when Sino-Japanese relations met with serious difficulties， the nongovernmental organizations of the two countries gave play to their traditional advantages of promoting governmental relations through nongovernmental channels and carried out a series of practical exchanges. Through unremitting efforts， they made valuable contributions to alleviating antagonism and misunderstanding between the two peoples， maintaining the basis of Sino-Japanese relations and improving bilateral relations. Under the new historical condition， the nongovernmental friendship organizations of the two countries should carry forward the fine traditions， further carry out extensive people-to-people exchanges in a down-to-earth manner so as to enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples， consolidate the mass base for the development of bilateral relations and promote a great new development of the relations between the two countries. In his speech， Jing Dunquan put forward three suggestions i.e. on the basis of the principles set in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and the other two political documents， the nongovernmental organizations of the two countries energetically carry out exchanges in the economic and cultural fields and between the localities， strengthen exchanges between the young people and make efforts to foster successors to the cause of Sino-Japanese friendship. These suggestions were unanimously approved by the participants of the conference.

In his key-note speech， on behalf of the Japanese side， JCFA Vice President Shoichi Ide said， the decision of establishing relations of mutual benefit on the basis of common strategic interests is made by the two countries from the overall interest and has great significance. He hoped that the two countries would strengthen exchanges between the peoples， the nongovernmental organizations in various areas and the local governments at different levels， particularly between the young people.

In his speech， Sichuan Governor Jiang Jufeng briefed about the great achievements the province made in recent years in the economic and social development and opening up to the outside world. He said， while persisting in scientific way of development and building a harmonious Sichuan， the Provincial Government is ready to promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields between Sichuan and Japan.

At the panel meetings， participants had in-depth discussions centering on the theme of the conference， and made suggestions on further strengthening nongovernmental friendly exchanges. They said that they would overcome difficulties to push forward the exchanges between the young people and friendship cities and in the fields of culture， economy and environmental protection.

Representatives of the two sides said that the conference is an important channel for nongovernmental friendly exchanges between the two countries and has played an important role in promoting the development of bilateral relations. They said， since Liao Chengzhi， the then CJFA president， and Tokuma Utsunomiya， the then JCFA president， initiated the first conference in 1983， at every conference， the participants from the two countries have had in-depth discussions and exchanged views on the situation and problems of Sino-Japanese relations， playing a positive role in better carrying out exchanges between the nongovernmental organizations， enhancing mutual understanding and friendly sentiments between the two peoples and promoting the development of the relations between the two countries. Particularly in recent years when bilateral relations met with serious difficulties， the last two conferences have played an important role in uniting friendly forces， actively carrying out friendly activities and enhancing the faith of friendly personages in the cause of Sino-Japanese friendship.