Li Peng Attends Reception Marking 30th Anniversary of Ties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 03, 2002

Li Peng Attends Reception Marking 30th Anniversary of Ties

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Li hopes cultural exchanges to boost bilateral ties

China's top legislator Li Peng and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Tuesday attended the opening reception of a major cultural exchange event to commemorate the 30th anniversary marking the normalization of the diplomatic relationship between China and Japan.

Li, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, officially announced the launching of the Chinese Cultural Year in Japan, one of the serial activities marking the normalization of bilateral ties as arranged by the Chinese and Japanese governments. In China, the Japanese Cultural Year in China will be unveiled soon.

Speaking at the reception, Li said Japan and China, as close neighbors, have common cultural roots, which serve as a nexus for enhancing the feelings of the two peoples.

He noted that the cultural exchanges between the two countries play an important role in the development of bilateral relations.

He hoped all such exchanges could enhance the understanding andfriendship between Chinese and Japanese peoples, the youngsters inparticular.

Koizumi pledged to make more efforts

Koizumi told 1,500 audience that the two major cultural events,which were blueprinted by the two sides in his meetings with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji during his 2001 visit to China, will definitely score great success in further deepening the friendship between the two peoples. He pledged to make even greater efforts for the development of the bilateral relationship in the future.

Wang Guangying, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, and Japanese cabinet ministers, political party leaders and Diet members also attended the reception.

According to sources close to the organizing committee, China and Japan will host more than 120 music, martial arts, acrobatic, cultural relic shows, as well as economic and trade seminars in each country this year.

Bilateral Relations between China and Japan

Political Relationship: Date of Normalization of Sino-Japanese Relations: September 29,1972.

At present, the Sino-Japanese relations have, on the whole, witnessed smooth development. The friendly exchanges and mutually beneficiary cooperation in various areas have made constant progress, which have not only brought about significant interests to the two countries, but also made positive contributions to the regional peace, stability and development and the world as well.

Bilateral Trade: Japan is our greatest trade partner, while China remains as the second biggest to Japan. The bilateral trade volume in 1997 amounted to 60.8 billion US dollars, a record high in history. In 1998, the total volume of Sino-Japanese trade was 57.89 billion US dollars, decreased by 4.8% compared with that of the previous year. The export volume to Japan was 29.69 billion US dollars against an import of 28.2 billion dollars, enjoying a trade surplus of 1.5 billion US dollars, 47.7% lower than that of the previous year. >>more information

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