On the afternoon of May 28th, Mr. Peng Qinghua, Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC and Mr. Yin Li, Vice Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC, Governor of Sichuan Provincial People’s Government, met with Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Director-general of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan in Chengdu and welcomed him leading a delegation to visit Sichuan and attend the China-Japan Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Forum.
Mr. Peng Qinghua briefly introduced the situation of Sichuan Province and the exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan and various regions in Japan. On behalf of the provincial party committee and the provincial government, he thanked the Japanese government and all walks of life for their assistance in the relief and reconstruction of Wenchuan earthquake. He said that China and Japan are important neighbors and major economies in the world. The development of friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries will not only help increase the well-being of the two peoples, but also contribute to peace, stability and prosperity of the world, especially Asia. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty. The relationship between the two countries has shown a trend of improvement, which provides an enabling environment for both sides to strengthen exchanges and cooperation among localities.

　　Mr. Peng Qinghua said that Sichuan is known as the “Land of Abundance” and is a province with a large population, abundant resources, a large economy as well as important education, science and technology, culture, and tourism. Sichuan has a good foundation for exchanges and cooperation with Japan for the economic structures and industries are highly complementary. In recent years, cooperation in various fields has continued to deepen. We are willing to work together with the Director-general to actively promote the close local government exchanges between Sichuan and Japan in areas such as economy and trade, investment, education, science and technology, culture, medical care, sports, tourism, agriculture, disaster prevention and mitigation as well as electronics. We will carry out more mutually beneficial cooperation in information, equipment manufacturing, modern finance, energy conservation and environmental protection as well as health and old-age care. Besides, we will further strengthen youth and inter-party exchanges to continuously increase the level of all-round communication and cooperation between Sichuan and Japan.

　　Mr. Toshihiro Nikai said that local exchanges and cooperation are an important part of Japan-China relations and a significant channel for non-governmental friendly exchanges between the two countries. The exchanges and cooperation between the localities of Sichuan and Japanese started very early. The common experience in fighting natural disasters such as the devastating earthquake further deepened the feelings between the Japanese people and the Sichuan people. It is hoped that Sichuan and various regions in Japan will continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and actively promote friendly communication among local governments, enterprises and people, so as to make greater contributions to the improvement of bilateral relations.

　　Motoo Hayashi, Acting General Secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, Member of the House of Representatives, former Minister of Economy and Industry, Nagatani Kouichi, Member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Special Committee for Resurgence, Harada Kennji, Deputy Director-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, Member of the House of Representatives, Ukishima Tomoko, Vice President of the Political Committee of  New Komeito Party, Member of the Liberal Democratic Party attended the meeting; Song Jingwu, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and provincial leaders Fan Ruiping and Zhu Hexin attended the meeting.