On the afternoon of November 11, Peng Qinghua, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Director of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, met with Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Nakamoto Takashi, Speaker of Hiroshima County Council and their entourage in Chengdu, and extended a warm welcome to their visit to Sichuan to attend the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the international friendship city relationship between Sichuan Province and Hiroshima Prefecture.

　　During the meeting, Peng Qinghua made a brief introduction to the exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan Province and Hiroshima Prefecture and Sichuan’s economic and social development. He said that China and Japan were important neighbors to each other and major economies in Asia and the world. 2018 marked the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and Sino-Japanese relations had got back on track under the promotion of the leaders of China and Japan, booming a new atmosphere of cooperation in various fields between the two countries. Regional exchanges and cooperation were an important part of the relationship between China and Japan. During the 35 years of the international friendship city relationship between Sichuan Province and Hiroshima Prefecture, the two sides had carried out fruitful and pragmatic cooperation, featuring the increasing personnel exchanges, the expanding fields of cooperation and the deepening relations between the two sides, which had become a successful model of the regional friendship exchanges between China and Japan. Sichuan would like to take the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the friendship city relationship between Sichuan Province and Hiroshima Prefecture as a new starting point, continue to strengthen the exchanges at all levels, deepen pragmatic cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, manufacturing, agriculture, environmental protection and tourism, and further promote the exchanges between legislative institutions, institutions of higher learning, youth and non-governmental parties on the basis of consolidating the existing cooperation achievements, so as to inject new impetus to the sustained and healthy development of the friendship city relationship between Sichuan and Hiroshima.

　　Hidehiko Yuzaki and Nakamoto Takashi congratulated the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the international friendship city relationship between Hiroshima Prefecture and Sichuan Province, and expressed admiration for the rapid development of Sichuan. They said that the traditional friendship between Hiroshima and Sichuan was of great value, and they would strive to consolidate the trust and friendship. They hoped that the two sides would take the 35th anniversary of the establishment of friendship city relationship as an opportunity to further deepen all-round exchanges and cooperation, promote the common development of Hiroshima Prefecture and Sichuan Province, and continue to play and exemplary role in Japan-China regional friendship exchanges.

　　Sichuan provincial leaders Wang Minghui, Huang Xinchu, Li Yunze and Consul General of Japan in Chongqing Watanabe Hiroyuki attended the meeting.