Mme. Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), met in Beijing with Mr. YONEYAMA RYUICHI, Governor of Niigata-ken on March, 27th.

President Li said, Niigata-ken has a tradition of keeping friendly relations with China. As early as 1980s, Niigata-ken had established friendship-city relations with Heilongjiang Province and had ever developed a series of pragmatic cooperation with Shaanxi Province about crested ibises protection, which had become a remarkable story for the friendly relationship between China and Japan. Since 2014, jointly sponsored and created by CPAFFC and SDT (Shanghai Dance Theater), the dance drama Crested Ibises had visited Japan for three times to perform, and in January this year, the dance drama Crested Ibises performed successfully in America for the first time, which were popular with Japanese and American audiences. Peace and friendship are the common themes for humanity. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between China and Japan and also the 45th anniversary of friendship-cites exchanges of the two countries. CPAFFC and CJFA( China-Japan Friendship Association) will hold a series of commemorative activities to push bilateral relations for improvement and welcome Governor YONEYAMA RYUICHI and other friendly personages from all walks of life in Niigata-ken to attend actively by then.

Governor YONEYAMA RYUICHI made an introduction about the exchanges and cooperation developed between Niigata-ken and Heilongjiang province and other regions in China. He said, Niigata-ken is the hometown of the late Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, and moreover, Niigata-ken has established relationship with China due to crested ibises. The personages from all walks of life in Niigata-ken attach importance to the exchanges and cooperation with China, and also consider China’s development as important opportunities. They will continue to carry forward the tradition of keeping friendly relations with China in the future and seize on the opportunities to further develop the exchanges and cooperation in various fields with relevant organizations in China so as to make efforts on the improvement of the bilateral relations and the friendship for generations of the two countries.

President Li Xiaolin also introduced the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017 and 2018 national two sessions to the delegation.