ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｃｈｅｎ Ｈａｏｓｕ Ｇｉｖｅｓ ａ Ｓｐｅｅｃｈ ｉｎ Ｊａｐａｎ

On the evening of November 18， 2008， to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship， the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association (JCCEA) held a lecture meeting entitled “Looking into the Future of China-Japan Cultural Exchanges” in Tokyo. About 300 personages of the Japanese cultural and various other circles attended it.

In his keynote speech at the meeting， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu spoke highly of the contributions to normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations and development of relations between the two countries made by the JCCEA as an important channel for China-Japan cultural exchanges in the past half a century. President Chen said， the present situation of China-Japan relations has not come easily and should be cherished all the more. The people of the two countries should strive to accomplish the lofty goal of peaceful coexistence， lasting friendship， mutually beneficial cooperation and common development. We advocate taking history as a mirror for the purpose of attaining a better future. To realize the great aspiration of lasting friendship between the two countries needs joint efforts by all the friends who love peace and treasure friendship. We uphold promoting governmental relations through nongovernmental channels， promoting political relations through economic exchanges and cooperation and promoting friendship through culture. By promoting strategic mutual trust between the two countries through people-to-people friendly contacts， promoting political mutual trust through economic development and promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples through cultural exchanges， we will continue to work for the friendship between the two peoples to last from generation to generation.

In his speech at the meeting， Takashi Tsujii， president of the JCCEA， said， it is encouraging that the political relations between the two countries have warmed up in recent years. The JCCEA is willing to make efforts to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the cultural and other fields and enhance friendship between the two peoples. He stressed， the financial crisis that is spreading globally verifies the flaws of free-market capitalism. To overcome worldwide economic crisis needs full cooperation by the people of all countries in the world. China’s vigorous economic growth will make important contributions to overcoming the economic crisis in the world and help China strengthen its international status and push the Japan-China relations to a higher level.

The speeches by the two presidents were well received by the participants at the meeting. Invited by the JCCEA， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu led a CPAFFC delegation to visit Japan starting November 17， 2008. During its one-week visit in Japan， the delegation paid official calls on Takeo Kawamura， chief cabinet secretary; Ryu Shioya， minister of education， culture， sports， science and technology; Yasutoshi Nishimura， parliamentary vice minister for foreign affairs， and Akira Fujiwara， mayor of Nara. The delegation had extensive and in-depth discussions and exchanged views on further developing China-Japan relations and strengthening exchanges and cooperation in the political， economic and cultural fields with personages of the cultural circles including writers Senji Kuroi and Teru Miyamoto， director Masahiro Shinoda， playwright Ren Saito， sculptor Kichi Sumikawa and pottery artistSoji Suzuki.