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At the invitation of famous Japanese singer Shinji Tanimura and president Eiichi Kuriwada of the SG Holdings Co., Ltd., a CPAFFC delegation headed by its vice president Li Xiaolin visited Japan from February 18 to 24. To further Sino-Japanese cultural and economic exchanges, leaders of the University of Modern Administration, Beijing Zhonglianguoxing Institute of Calligraphy and Painting and the Beijing Leyong Trading Co., Ltd. were also on delegation for the visit. They had wide contact with Japanese friends of political, business and cultural circles. The delegation called on Shinzo Abe, former Japanese prime minister, Katsuhito Asano, former vice foreign minister and now director general of the Personnel Bureau of the Liberal Democratic Party, Shinichiro Shiranishi, director general of the Japan-China Society, Mr. Shinji Tanimura, Mr. Eiichi Kuriwada, and Nobuhiro Kume, chief executive officer of Daisan Kikaku, Inc.

On the morning of February 19, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with the delegation at his office. Vice President Li Xiaolin thanked him for arranging the meeting on his tight schedule and highly praised him for the contributions of his “ice-breaking” visit to China to improving relations between Japan and China. She briefed him in detail on the exchange activities held by the CPAFFC and the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development in recent years. Shinzo Abe said, the Sino-Japanese Benefit Concerts held in Shanghai and Nanjing last September were a great success and Vice Foreign Minister Katsuhito Asano was present at the opening ceremony. He received the DVD of the concerts sent by Shinji Tanimura and felt really moved after watching it. Shinzo Abe said the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing would have Japans full support, since the Beijing Olympics was not only Chinas event, but also Asias, and a grand sports gathering of all Asian people as well.

During her meeting with Katsuhito Asano, Li Xiaolin thanked him for his full support for the Sino-Japanese cultural and sports exchanges during his term of office as vice foreign minister. In 2007, all activities of the China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchange Year were vivid and colourful. She said, whether in office or retired and whether in the past, at present or in the future, Katsuhito Asano is always regarded as a good old friend of the Chinese people.

On the evening of February 19, invited by Shinji Tanimura, Li Xiaolin had a talk with the musician and his wife while enjoying dinner together. Shinji Tanimura informed her about the preparations for the large scale concert of Chinese and Japanese youth and children planned to be held at the Great Wall this year.

From February 20 to 23, Li Xiaolin visited the SG Holdings Co., Ltd, and was warmly received by President Eiichi Kuriwada and Senior Managing Director Toshiaki Tsujio. She said, for as long as two decades, the SG Holdings tirelessly carried out friendship-with-China activities and trained a number of senior technicians of automobile maintenance and repair for Chinese provincial, municipal and state departments every year, giving great help to Chinas endeavour for building up its contingent of qualified technical personnel and thus, promoting its economic development. In the field of culture, it had sincere cooperation with the CPAFFC and its subordinate organization, the China Service Centre for Friendship and Cooperation with Foreign Countries (CSCFCFC), and helped the National Museum of China, the Shanghai Museum and the Nanjing Museum hold exhibitions in Japan, contributing greatly to the cause of people-to-people friendship between China and Japan. Li Xiaolin hoped the SG Holdings would continue to make efforts to conduct further activities in the fields of culture, sports and personnel exchange. With emotions, Eiichi Kuriwada recalled the 23-year history of friendship and cooperation with the CPAFFC and the CSCFCFC and expressed his wish to maintain long-term and stable relationship of friendship and cooperation with the CPAFFC. He also gave a briefing on the SG Holdings Group which was set up on the basis of the Sagawa Express in March 2007. Eiichi Kuriwada said that the group would actively carry on cultural and sports exchange activities as well as personnel exchanges with the CPAFFC and the CSCFCFC in lager scales.