Forum on China-Japan Agricultural Exchange And Cooperation Held in Beijing

The Forum on China-Japan Agricultural Exchange and Cooperation was held in Beijing on September 10. It was jointly sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries（CPAFFC）， the China-Japan Friendship Association （CJFA）， Keidanren （Japan Business Federation） and the Keizai Koho Center （KKC） to promote friendly exchanges and practical cooperation in agriculture on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the signing of the bilateral Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

The more than 100 participants were experts and scholars in agriculture， and representatives of relevant organizations and enterprises from both China and Japan.

CJFA President Tang Jiaxuan’s Meeting

On the morning of September 10， CJFA President Tang Jiaxuan met with Muneo Kurauchi， Head of the Planning Department of the JBF Committee on China and Senior Managing Executive Officer of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ， and other principal Japanese participants. Also present was CJFA Vice President Wang Xiuyun.

Tang noted that bilateral exchanges in various fields had been seriously affected since the implementation of the so-called “nationalization” of the Diaoyu Islands by the Japanese government.

The CJFA and JBF signed an agreement on friendly exchanges and cooperation in November 2012 with the aim of giving impetus to the development of Sino-Japanese relations through people-to-people contact so that they would return to the track of normal development.

Under this framework， the two sides successfully organized the Seminar on Sino-Japanese Relations in Tokyo in March as well as the agricultural exchange and cooperation forum. These activities would enhance mutual understanding and trust and have practical significance， he said.

Tang said that， in times of difficulties in Sino-Japanese relations， nongovernmental organizations of the two countries should uphold their belief in friendship and work in a persistent and down-to-earth way to promote exchanges and cooperation in economy， trade， culture， local government， youth and other areas.

By bringing into full play their role of “promoting official ties through people-to-people contact” and “promoting political relations through economic and trade contact”， they could inject positive energy into Sino-Japanese friendship and improve relations.

Although China had made tremendous achievements in agriculture since the reform and opening up， it still had a long way to go to achieve modernization in agriculture.

China’s new leadership had stressed on many occasions that the country would advance towards its goal of industrialization， information- ization， urbanization and agricultural modernization （the “new four modernizations”）. It would deepen reform and opening up to achieve greater economic development， and this would provide many new opportunities for bilateral cooperation.

Tang noted that China and Japan had a long history of agricultural exchanges and cooperation. These had intensified since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Japan’s advanced technology， experience and ideas had played an important role in China’s agricultural development.

He hoped that the two sides

would take the forum as an opportunity to summarize the fruitful results of bilateral agricultural exchanges， adapt themselves to new situations， explore innovative ideas and discuss how to use scientific methods to promote greater progress.

Mr. Kurauchi said the Sino-Japanese relationship was one of the most important bilateral relationships of all for Japan. Being the world’s second and third largest economies， it was of great importance for the development and prosperity of Asia and the world that China and Japan should strengthen friendly cooperation in various fields.

Agriculture was a major area concerning national life and the two countries were confronted with some pressing problems. The two sides， being highly complementary in agriculture， should enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and work to achieve common development.

On the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China， the JBF was willing to take the opportunity to strengthen communication and cooperation with the CJFA and other relevant organizations in China and carry out more grassroots-oriented friendly exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and friendship.

The Forum

The forum on China-Japan Agricultural Exchange and Cooperation with the theme of “Prospects of Cooperation in Agriculture” aimed to increase mutual understanding， strengthen bilateral pragmatic cooperation and open up more cooperation channels to realize complementary advantages and mutually beneficial results.

CJFA Vice President Wang Xiuyu and Mr. Kurauchi both addressed the forum. Wang Xiuyun said agriculture had been a major component of bilateral cooperation. The two countries had made remarkable achievements in agricultural exchanges and cooperation， playing a positive role in the development of bilateral friendly relations.

China and Japan enjoyed natural advantages and a long history of agricultural cooperation. They had broad common interests and vast space for cooperation. She hoped that the forum would promote further pragmatic exchanges and deepen and expand cooperation in agriculture.

Kurauchi said bilateral economic and trade exchanges and cooperation at the people-to-people level had become increasingly important. He hoped forum participants would have an indepth discussion to promote further agricultural exchanges and cooperation.

Well-known Chinese and Japanese experts and scholars in agriculture and business representatives including Bian Zhenhu， President of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs， Native Produce and Animal By-Products， Zeng Yin- chu， professor of Remin University， Teng Rengui， Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Dalian’s Jinzhou New Area， Shinichi Shogenji， professor of Nagoya University， Kenji Someno， research fellow of the Tokyo Foundation， and Yoshiyuki Shimizu， Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer of Sumitomo Chemical Co.， Ltd.， discussed enthusiastically the agricultural policies of the two countries， trade of agricultural products， investment and technical cooperation in agriculture and relevant fields， and other topics of common concern， and reached consensus.

The forum hosted by the CPAFFC and the JBF was a new attempt to promote pragmatic bilateral cooperation and it achieved complete success. The two sides had a frank， pragmatic and fruitful discussion， of not only practical significance to better carry out bilateral exchanges and cooperation in agriculture， but also set a good example for efforts to promote early improvement of the bilateral relations at the nongovernmental and economic levels.