At the invitation of the Japan-China Friendship Association, President Li Xiaolin visited Japan from November 18 to 20, 2018 and attended the 16th China-Japan Friendship Conference in Okayama on November 19.

The 16th China-Japan Friendship Conference was co-sponsored by the Japan-China Friendship Association and the CPAFFC. Li Xiaolin, President of the CPAFFC, Li Xikui, Secretary General of the CPAFFC, Li Tianran, Consul General of China in Osaka, Wang Wan, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, Abe Toshiko, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Niwa Uichiro, President of the Japan-China Friendship Association, Ibaragi Ryuta, Governor of Okayama Prefecture, Omori Masao, Mayor of Okayama, Eda Satsuki, former President of the House of Councilors in Japan, councilors of Okayama Prefecture constituency, representatives from local friendship associations, local administrative and legislative bodies, as well as economic and academic circles from 16 Chinese provinces, cities and autonomous regions and 28 Japanese prefectures, totaling 300, attended the conference.

In her opening speech, Li Xiaolin said that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty. Over the past 40 years, the bilateral relations have achieved rapid development and the depth and breadth of interests connection have reached an unprecedented level, which is rarely seen in bilateral relations. At present, China-Japan relations have entered a new stage of development. The people-to-people friendship organizations should take the 40th anniversary as a new starting point, carry forward the tradition, advance with the times, and comprehensively deepen exchanges and cooperation in economy, culture, tourism, local governments, youth and other fields, so as to draw closer the distance between the two peoples, make greater contributions to China-Japan friendship, and better benefit the two peoples with the achievement of pragmatic cooperation.

In his speech, Niwa Uichiro said that a few years ago, the Japan-China relations faced the most difficult situation since the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the friendly sentiment between the two peoples fell to the bottom. Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the friendly personages from all walks of life in Japan and China, the relationship between the two countries has ushered in a better situation recently, which is very exciting. "Promoting official relations through people-to-people exchanges" is the unique advantage and great tradition of Japan-China friendship. It is expected that all the participants will open their hearts, communicate openly on future plans and build consensus, so that this conference will become a new starting point and lead friendship between the two countries to a new height.

Omori Masao expressed his pleasure in his speech at the convening of the 16th China-Japan Friendship Conference in Okayama on the occasion of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty. He believed that even if the relations between the two countries encounter some twists and turns, they will eventually return to the track of friendship, as long as the two peoples continue to strengthen exchanges in various fields and deepen mutual understanding. He hoped that the participants will keep making new and greater contributions to the continuous improvement and development of Japan-China friendly relations.

Wang Wan read the congratulatory message on behalf of H.E. Cheng Yonghua, Ambassador of China to Japan. Li Xikui and Utsunomiya Tokuichiro, Vice President of the Japan-China Friendship Association delivered keynote reports respectively.

The theme of this conference was "New Era, New Actions - Creating a New Situation of China-Japan Friendship and Exchanges". Based on the current situation of China-Japan relations, the participants held in-depth discussions about the theme, and jointly issued the Okayama Declaration. They are determined to continue to hold high the banner of China-Japan friendship on the basis of the four political documents and the four-point consensus between China and Japan, and seize the opportunity to follow the trend, so as to make new contributions to the continuous development of bilateral relations.

During her stay in Japan, Li Xiaolin met with Governor Ibaragi Ryuta, Mayor Omori Masao and other heads of local governments of Japan respectively, and exchanged views on further deepening the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Japanese local governments.