On March 27, the 2025 Kyushu China-Japan Friendship Exchange Conference and China-Japan Sister Cities Exchange Event was successfully held in Fukuoka. The event was co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Fukuoka, the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA), and the Kyushu Regional Japan-China Friendship Association.
(Group photo of representatives from China and Japan)
President Yang Wanming attended the event and delivered a speech. Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao sent a written message, and Chinese Consul-General in Fukuoka Yang Qingdong also addressed the gathering. Among those present were Tokuichiro Utsunomiya, President of the JCFA; Senichi Moriyama, Chairman of Fukuoka Prefecture Japan-China Friendship Association; Takayuki Hiraya, Vice Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture; Yoshiaki Eguchi Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly Vice-Chairperson; as well as leaders from six provinces (autonomous regions) including Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, and Xinjiang, and 11 cities including Dalian, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Shenyang, Urumqi, Aksu, Yancheng, Zhangzhou, Nanping, Yichun, and Zaozhuang. Additionally, representatives from eight Japanese prefectures—Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Okinawa, and Yamaguchi —along with leaders from 23 cities—Fukuoka City, Saga City, Oita City, Kumamoto City, Miyazaki City, Kagoshima City, Naha City, Kitakyushu City, Shimonoseki City, Imari City, Koga City, Tsukushi City, Kurume City, Omuta City, Nakagawa City, Tsukushino City, Miyatano City, Nakaku City, Kasuga City, Yanagawa City, Arao City, Yatsushiro City, and the Kyoto area of Yobuko—also attended the event. In total, more than 260 representatives from various sectors, including friendship organizations, enterprises, media, and universities, participated in the conference.
The participants engaged in in-depth discussions on carrying forward the friendly tradition, building stronger bonds through friendship, and strengthening consensus on further promoting people-to-people exchanges and dialogues. They also explored ways to deepen practical cooperation at the local level, and contributing to the development of a continuous, stable, and healthy development of the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit, and reached positive consensus.
(CPAFFC President Yang Wanming delivers a speech)
President Yang Wanming stated that China-Japan relations are showing positive momentum for improvement and development. Last November, President Xi Jinping met with Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan in Lima, reaffirming the commitment to comprehensively advance the China-Japan strategic mutually beneficial relationship and build a constructive and stable relationship that meets the requirements of the new era, in line with the principles outlined in the four political documents between China and Japan. Under the political guidance of the leaders of the two countries, a series of key dialogues took place, including the second meeting of High-Level Consultation Mechanism on People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges between China and Japan, the Ninth Meeting of the China-Japan Ruling Party Exchange Mechanism, and the Sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue. These events have further enriched the new connotations of the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit in political, economic, and cultural fields.
Yang emphasized that people-to-people exchanges are the "source of living water" for China-Japan relations. This event serves as an important measure to sustain the positive momentum of bilateral relationship, promote people-to-people exchanges, and advance sister-city cooperation. He expressed the hope that organizations and governments at the local level from both countries actively implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and take this event as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges, maintain the political foundation of China-Japan relations, and continuously improve and develop bilateral relations. Moreover, the two sides should expand practical cooperation, enrich the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit with new connotations; promote exchanges and dialogues among all sectors, and improve the public opinion for a friendly China-Japan relationship.
Wu Jianghao noted that, in the context of increasing global uncertainties, China-Japan relations face both new opportunities and challenges. It is thus all the more necessary for us to review the value of China-Japan relationship, reaffirm the significance of China-Japan friendship, and reinforce mutually beneficial cooperation of the two countries. People-to-people friendship and subnational partnership is not only a valuable asset but also a unique advantage of China-Japan relations. It is hoped that the subnational governments from both countries use the event to consolidate traditional friendship, expand opportunities for exchanges, and undertake more substantial and enduring practical cooperation, thereby enhancing the sense of gain of the two peoples.
(Chinese Consul-General in Fukuoka Yang Qingdong delivers a speech)
Yang Qingdong said that subnational exchanges and cooperation are integral to China-Japan relations and crucial for advancing people-to-people friendship. The fruitful results of sister-city cooperation have delivered tangible benefits to the people of both nations and provided robust support for future development. He urged the participants to continue serving as bridges for China-Japan subnational exchanges and help the cities of both countries overcome geographical barriers, and jointly play a bigger role to promoting the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations and enhancing the well-being of the two peoples.
(JCFA President Tokuichiro Utsunomiya delivers a speech)
Tokuichiro Utsunomiya reflected that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 75th anniversary of JCFA's establishment. Since its inception, the JCFA has always been adhering to the "No More War Between Japan and China" principle and and working tirelessly to promote Japan-China friendship. President Xi Jinping recently stated that the world is once again at a crossroads in history. As humanity shares a common future, building a community with a shared future for mankind is the path forward for all nations. It is hoped that the Kyushu China-Japan Friendship Exchange Conference would pool the wisdom and strength at the subnational level and promote the vigorous development of exchanges and cooperation between sister cities on both sides. The JCFA will continue contributing to the long-standing friendship between Japan and China as well as the peace and development of Asia and the world at large.
Senichi Moriyama emphasized that Kyushu has long been a key gateway for cultural, economic, and political exchanges between Japan and China. Amid profound changes in the international situation and human history, subnational entities and the peoples of the two countries need to pool wisdom more than ever, deepen cooperation and exchanges, and jointly address common challenges.
(Left: Qian Wenhua, Deputy President of the Jiangsu People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries [JPAFFC]; Right: Takayuki Hiraya, Vice Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture)
Qian Wenhua, Deputy President of the JPAFFC, and Takayuki Hiraya, Vice Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, delivered speeches on behalf of their local governments. Qian Wenhua said that the JPAFFC is willing to work hand in hand with all sectors in Kyushu, inherit and carry forward the tradition of "advancing official diplomacy with people-to-people exchanges", and leverage amity among the peoples to add to the warm chapters of "a bosom friend afar brings a distant land near" in the new era. Takayuki Hiraya said that as the region in Japan the closest to China, Kyushu and Yamaguchi have always had active exchanges with China and made important contributions to the development of bilateral relations. Yamaguchi Prefecture and Shandong Province are the first pair of sister cities. Over the past 40 years since the establishment of the sister-city relationship, the two sides have continuously deepened mutual trust and friendly cooperation. In the future, it is hoped that Yamaguchi Prefecture and Shandong Province can further strengthen exchanges in various fields such as economy, education, and culture and move forward together towards a new future full of social changes.
(Scene of the 2025 Kyushu China-Japan Friendship Exchange Conference and China-Japan Sister Cities Exchange Event)
During the conference, representatives from local governments of both countries participated in the China-Japan Sister Cities Exchange Event. Notable speakers included Sun Zhongzhen, Executive Deputy Mayor of Urumqi, Xinjiang; Li Lin, Director-General of Fujian Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; Tan Ganming, Mayor of Yichun, Jiangxi; Guo Tao, Deputy Secretary of the Aksu Prefectural Party Committee, Xinjiang; Tang Jing, Vice Mayor of Yancheng Government, Jiangsu; Zhao Gang, Secretary-General of the Municipal Committee of Zaozhuang City, Shandong; Jia Guifen, Deputy President of the Liaoning People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Ma Taotao, Deputy Mayor of Zhangzhou, Fujian; Zhou Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Dalian Municipal Government, Liaoning; Chen Shuangwei, Director of Shenyang Foreign Affairs Office, Liaoning; Wang Xiangyu, Deputy Director of Qingdao Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, Shandong; as well as Takahisa Nakagakiuchi, Deputy Mayor of Kumamoto City, Japan; Kazuki Tanabe, Mayor of Koga City, Fukuoka Prefecture; YOKOO Toshihiko, Mayor of Taku City in Saga Prefecture; Tamami Nakamura, Deputy Mayor of Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture; Noriyasu Kawasaki, Director of the International Kumamon Bureau of Kumamoto Prefecture, etc. They shared experiences and outcomes from their sister-city exchanges and cooperation in building a foundation for people-to-people friendship, establishing a bridge for subnational cooperation, and carrying out extensive practical exchanges in various fields, and put forward suggestions for future cooperation.
Liaoning Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and cities such as Qingdao, Urumqi, Aksu, Yancheng, and Zaozhuang set up publicity boards in the venue, displaying creative cultural products and brochures to introduce the latest economic and social development and natural scenery of their local areas, which were well-received by the participants.
The Kyushu China-Japan Friendship Exchange Conference, initiated in 2013 by the CPAFFC, the Consulate-General in Fukuoka, and the Kyushu Regional Japan-China Friendship Association, has been successfully held for 10 sessions. It serves as a vital platform for enhancing mutual understanding, promoting people-to-people friendship, and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Japan at the local level.
