A Bridge of Friendship

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the CPAFFC， I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations and also pay high tribute to its great contributions to the cause of Japan-China friendship， serving as a bridge of people-to-people contacts.

The CPAFFC was founded on May 3， 1954， that is the fifth year of the founding of the People’s Republic. In that year Premier Zhou Enlai visited India where he and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence， and showed the great importance New China had attached to peace and friendship when he attended the Geneva Conference， as well as the Bandung Conference the following year.

The Chinese Government paid great attention to people-to-people diplomacy from early on， and it was under this guiding principle， the CPAFFC （then named the Chinese People’s Associations for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries） came into being. In the past 60 years， it has played a unique role and established friendly and cooperative relations with 500 people-to-people organizations in 157 countries never before seen in world diplomacy.

In the early days of the People’s Republic， the then Japanese Government followed the United States in adopting a hostile policy toward China and did not restore diplomatic relations with the country. Japan and China are close neighbors separated by only a strip of water. Their friendly contacts have a history of 2，000 years. To restore and develop friendly relations between them would not only contribute to peace， stability and prosperity of the two countries， but also to that in Asia and the world at large.

In November 1955， a Japanese delegation， consisting of personages of various circles in support of the Japanese Constitution and headed by former Japanese Prime Minister Tetsu Katayama， visited Beijing. When meeting the delegation， Premier Zhou Enlai elaborated on the necessity of active promotion of cultural exchanges between China and Japan. To facilitate such exchanges， the delegation and the CPAFFC sign an agreement on the establishment of a Japan-China cultural exchange association. It was signed by Koreya Senda of Japan and Chinese personages of insight including Zhao Yiming， Yang Hansheng， Lao She， Ouyang Yuqian， Ma Sicong， Liu Kaiqu， Cai Chusheng， Dai Ailian and Chen Zhongjing. After that， Kenzo Nakajima， Norio Shirato and others started preparation and finally set up the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association （JCCEA） on March 23， 1956.

After the Meiji Restoration， an ungrateful Japan embarked on the road of militarism and invaded and ravaged China — the mother country of its culture from which it had benefited so much — bringing untold sufferings to the Chinese people. The founders of the JCCEA had a deep reflection on the crimes committed by Japan and held firm conviction that the same mistakes should not be repeated. Under extremely difficult conditions， they carried out various kinds of cultural contact and worked actively to rebuild friendship with the Chinese people and promote the early realization of normalization of diplomatic relations.

The exchanges in the 1950s and 1960s were conducted mainly according to the Joint Statement on People-to-People Cultural Exchange Between Japan and China signed annually by the CPAFFC and the JCCEA.

As all contacts between the two countries had been suspended for a long time， they had to start from scratch. Though “everything is difficult in the beginning”， the concerted efforts of the CPAFFC and the JCCEA overcame various difficulties and advanced the exchange programs steadily. During this period， delegations of various circles including literature， art， academia and sports visited China one after another， with the CPAFFC always playing the role of host.

From 1956 to 1966， numerous cultural and art delegations consisting of such famous personages as writers Suekichi Aono， Mantaro Kubota， Koji Uno and Kenzaburo Oe； film director Kyohiko Ushihara； archaeologists Yoshito Harada and Yuzo Sugimura； physicist Shinichiro Tomonaga； calligrapher Shunkai Bundo； visual artist Kazumasa Nakagawa； photographer Ihei Kimura； the Matsuyama Ballet； and the sports leaders’ delegation co-led by Kenzo Kono， President of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations and Masaji Tabata， Honorary President of the Japan Swimming Federation.

The staff of the CPAFFC， making nothing of hardships， went all out and did a remarkable job in their reception work. During this period， Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai met with most delegations. Besides， in 1956， a Peking Opera troupe with Mei Lanfang as its leader visited Japan for the first time after the founding of New China， and in 1958， the Dunhuang Art Exhibition was mounted in Tokyo and Kyoto， the first cultural relics exhibition in Japan from New China.

These activities opened the door that had been shut for a long time. The Japanese people paid more attention to what was happening in China and their friendly sentiment grew. The exchanges in various sectors starting from that period have continued to expand in scale and scope. The CPAFFC has opened up channels for people-to-people contacts and sowed the seeds of friendship， playing an important “pioneering” role.

At every major juncture in the Japan-China relationship， the CPAFFC has always played an important role. In May 1958， the then Japanese Cabinet headed by Nobusuke Kishi adopted a hostile policy toward China. This led to the Nagasaki Flag Incident （in which Japanese ruffians tore up the Chinese national flag）. The incident gravely affected non-governmental exchanges that had been carried out smoothly up to then.

Japanese delegations visited China as before， but only a small number of delegations from China were able to visit Japan. This abnormality lasted for several years. Not until 1961， after the visit to Japan by a Chinese culture and friendship delegation with CPAFFC President Chu Tunan as its leader did delegations of Chinese cultural circles resume their visits and people-to-people exchanges revive.

In March 1971， the 31st World Table Tennis Championships was held in Nagoya. China sent 60 players to take part. During the championships， the U.S. table tennis team was invited to visit China where Premier Zhou Enlai met them. This had much bearing on the eventual visit of President Nixon， contributing greatly to the improvement of Sino-US relations and the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China.

The “ping pong diplomacy” was materialized on the basis of the Minutes of Talks Among the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， the Chinese Table Tennis Association， the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association and the Japan Table Tennis Association.

The wheel of history rolled on. Benefiting from years of exchanges and with the normalization of diplomatic relations in sight， in July 1972， the China Shanghai Dance Troupe， consisting of over 200 members and headed by Sun Pinghua， made a performance tour of Japan. The ballet The White Haired Girl and The Red Detachment of Women it staged were warmly received.

Takeo Miki and Yasuhiro Nakasone， members of the Japanese Cabinet attended the functions of the ballet troupe on the first day， and before the troupe’s departure， Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka met members for a talk. By then， normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries had become an irresistible trend of history.

Two mon- ths later， Prime Minister Tanaka visited Beijing. On September 29， the Joint Statement Between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Japan was issued， realizing the normalization of relations.

Since its establishment， all the successive presidents of the CPAFFC， namely， Chu Tunan， Wang Bingnan， Zhang Wenjin， Han Xu， Qi Huaiyuan， Chen Haosu and Li Xiaolin， have visited Japan at the invitation of the JCCEA. Likewise， JCCEA Presidents such as Kenzo Nakajima， Yasushi Inoue， Ikuma Dan， Takashi Tsujii， etc. also organized delegations and visited China as guests of the CPAFFC.

Such exchanges of delegations have already lasted for half a century. Through this channel， many famous and influential personages of the two countries have deepened understanding of each other through interaction and become an important force in promoting Japan-China friendship. “Perseverance is a kind of strength”， and it is the fine tradition of the CPAFFC to remain committed to carrying out these exchanges continuously， generation after generation.

At present， the world is undergoing profound and complex changes， and Japan and China are experiencing some difficulties in their relations. We wish the CPAFFC that has a splendid history and tradition and serves as a bridge of friendship between the Japanese and Chinese people will make fresh contribution to peace， friendship and progress of humanity.

March 20， 2014