Ｓｔａｔｅ Ｃｏｕｎｃｉｌｌｏｒ Ｔａｎｇ Ｊｉａｘｕａｎ Ｍｅｅｔｓ ｗｉｔｈ Ｄｉｒｅｃｔｏｒｓ－Ｇｅｎｅｒａｌ ｏｆ Ｓｉｘ Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ－ｗｉｔｈ－Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｏｒｇ

On the afternoon of December 14， 2004， State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with directors-general of the six Japanese friendship-with China organizations who were invited to Beijing to attend the working meeting of the Chinese and Japanese people’s friendship organizations. The directors-general included Kyuhei Muraoka of the Japan-China Friendship Association， Yoshio Nakata of the Japan Council for Promotion of International Trade and Shinichiro Shiranishi of the Japan-China Society. CPAFFC Vice President Chen Yongchang and Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Cui Tiankai were present at the meeting.

Tang Jiaxuan said， China-Japan relations are now at a crucial time. The convening of the meeting at such a time to discuss in depth China-Japan friendship， a matter of vital importance， is of great significance.

Tang said， “To develop official relations through people-to-people exchanges” is a glorious tradition of the Chinese and Japanese nongovernmental organizations. Under the present situation of China-Japan relations， it is more necessary to carry forward this tradition and further consolidate， strengthen and expand the social basis of the friendship between the two peoples so as to promote and develop the relations between the two countries. The successive Chinese leaders and governments have， as always， attached great importance to the work of developing friendship between the two peoples， and given energetic support to the cause of people-to-people friendship. Tang hoped that Chinese and Japanese friendship organizations would fully cooperate and make concerted efforts to continuously carry out various kinds of lively， rich and colorful nongovernmental friendly activities and expand friendly exchanges and cooperation in all fields so that China-Japan relations would have a long-term， healthy and steady development to realize the lofty goal of ever-lasting friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people.

Tang continued， the current China-Japan relations， on the whole， maintain a momentum of development， but also face many difficulties that need to be adjusted in time. The Chinese side has expressed its positive and sincere wish to improve the situation and made unremitting efforts. Not long ago， President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao respectively met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during the international conferences in Chile and Laos. The fact that the two Chinese chief leaders met with Japanese Prime Minister amid the atmosphere of the current China-Japan relations shows China’s endeavour to improve its relations with Japan. During their meetings， the two Chinese leaders stated from different angles China’s view and position on the development of China-Japan relations， i.e. the two countries should maintain long-term friendly coexistence， pass on the friendship from generation to generation， and carry out cooperation of mutual benefits so as to achieve a common development.

Tang said， the year 2005 is an unusual year， which marks the 60th anniversary of the victory of the world people’s anti-fascist war， and the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. It is also a very important year for China-Japan relations. On the basis of the fruitful results of the meetings between the leaders of the two countries both Chinese and Japanese personages of insight should actively explore in depth， work out plans and carry out well the nongovernmental friendship activities so as to push forward the bilateral relations in the direction of sound and steady development.

Tang stated China’s position on the history and Taiwan problems， hoping that the leading officials of the main Japanese friendship organizations present at the meeting would pay more attention to and keep alert on these two problems to prevent things that are harmful or destructive to China-Japan friendly relations.

Tang also reviewed the important contributions of people-to-people exchanges to the promotion of the development of bilateral relations. He encouraged the Japanese friendship organizations to work for the development of bilateral relations even more vigorously under the new situation， and make greater and more valuable contributions to the friendly exchanges between the two peoples.