ＪＣＦＡ Ｎｅｗ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｋｏｉｃｈｉ Ｋａｔｏ ａｎｄ Ｈｉｓ Ｐａｒｔｙ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Ｑｉａｏ　Ｌｕｎ

Invited by the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA), a 11-member delegation of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA) headed by Koichi Kato, new president of the JCFA and former secretary general of Japans Liberal Democratic Party, visited China from September 5 to 7, during which they attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic Games and other relevant activities. President Hu Jintao met with Koichi Kato and his party. Koichi Kato attended the welcoming banquet President Hu Jintao and his wife hosted in honour of the dignitaries from various countries who had come to China to watch the Paralympics. KoichiKato and his party made an official call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and had a working meeting with the CJFA.

President Hu Jintao Meeting with the Delegation

President Hu Jintao met with Mr. Kato and his party on September 7. Present at the meeting were Ling Jihua, member of the Secretariat and director of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC), Wang Huning, member of the Secretariat and director of the Policy Research Office of the CCCPC, Dai Bingguo, state councillor, Yang Jiechi, minister of foreign affairs, Chen Shiju, director of President Hu Jintaos Office, Jing Dunquan, vice president of the CPAFFC and the CJFA, and Yuji Miyamoto, Japanese ambassador to China.

President Hu congratulated Koichi Kato on his becoming the JCFA president. He called Kato an old friend of the Chinese people and spoke highly of his work to promote China-Japan friendship and his effort to restore, improve and develop bilateral relations over the years.

Hu Jintao said, China-Japan relations at present maintain a good momentum of development. I made a “warm-spring” visit to Japan in May this year, during which the leaders of the two countries had in-depth talks, signed the fourth political document between China and Japan, and mapped out a blueprint for future bilateral relations. China and Japan are countries of major influence in Asia and the world, and shoulder great responsibilities and mission of maintaining regional and world peace and promoting common development. China would like to work together with Japan to enhance political dialogue, expand practical cooperation and increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges so as to elevate the strategic relationship of mutual benefit to a new high.

Hu Jintao noted, the JCFA, one of the first organizations for friendship with China set up in Japan after the birth of New China, has served as an important bridge of friendly exchanges between the people of our two countries. Over the past several decades, our friends in the JCFA have done a great deal of work and made outstanding contributions to the restoration, improvement and development of bilateral relations and the promotion of Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges. Hu expressed the hope that the JCFA would, by carrying on the fine tradition and strengthening its belief in friendship, activate new vitality, draw more Japanese people to participate in the activities for friendship with China and make fresh contributions to the growth of bilateral relations.

Kato said that he was greatly honoured to become president of the JCFA last July and at the same time felt the heavy responsibility. He added that 2009 would mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the year after the 60th anniversary of the JCFA. The JCFA would, with a new appearance, take these opportunities to carry out various activities to continuously raise the awareness of the Japanese people for friendship with China and push bilateral friendly relations substantially forward among the people.

Working Meeting

Jing Dunquan, vice president of the CPAFFC and the CJFA, had a working meeting with Kato and his party. The two sides exchanged views frankly and in-depth on conducting extensive people-to-people contact between the two countries, strengthening exchanges and cooperation between the two organizations.