Tang spoke highly of the great ef- forts made by Mr. Yonekura in his ca- pacity as JBF Chairman to carry on the cause of China-Japan friendship, and his outstanding contributions to promot- ing the development of Japan-China economic and trade ties. He had always stood at the forefront of the cause of Japan-China friendship. Particularly, at present when the bilateral relation- ship was troubled, he had led the JBF to make active efforts to keep communica- tion and coordination with relevant Chi- nese departments and seek a way of get- ting the relationship back on track. His efforts provided much-needed warmth and were most encouraging. Mr. Yo- nekura really deserved the honorary title of China-Japan Friendship Envoy.