China-Japan University Student Communication Conference held in Peking University
Sep 07, 2018
Peking University, Sept. 3, 2018: On the afternoon of August 29th, 2018, China-Japan University Student Communication Conference was held in Centennial Hall, Peking University to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of signing the "Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship”. Chinese Primer Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent congratulatory messages to this conference. Chinese Minister of Education Chen Baosheng, Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Yoshimasa Hayashi, Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua, Japanese Ambassador to China Yutaka Yokoi, Keio University President Akira Haseyama, Peking university Council Chairman Hao Ping, President Lin Jianhua attended the event. The conference was hosted by Gong Qihuang, vice president of Peking University.
The Conference Site
Group photo
The conference started with Li Keqiang’s congratulatory messages. Li pointed out: "Young people represent the future. How young people in China and Japan look at each other will affect the future direction and development of bilateral relations. The task to promote the long-term relationship between China and Japan ultimately depends on the deep trust of the young people. The Chinese government will support the communication of young exchanges between the two countries as always. It is hoped that the youths of the two countries will remember the spirit of the treaty and apply new ways of communication in mutual understanding, to maintain the healthy and stable progress of bilateral ties."
Yutaka Yokoi read the congratulatory letter on behalf of Shinzo Abe. Abe reviewed Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to Japan in May this year and believed that this move was of great significance to the future development of Japan-China relations. Abe pointed out young people should shoulder the responsibility to construct long-term and stable relations between the two countries, and both Japan and China should continue to promote youth exchanges and build the bridge of friendship.
In the process of promoting the continuous improvement of Sino-Japanese relations, education takes on important missions and plays a basic, leading and strategic role. Chen Baosheng and Yoshimasa Hayashi delivered their messages as well.
Chen Baosheng pointed out that young people had always played an important role in Sino-Japanese relations, and the Chinese government had always attached great importance to the cultural exchanges between the two countries, and encouraged people from all walks of life, especially the younger generation, to actively participate in the construction of Sino-Japanese friendship.
Yoshimasa Hayashi said that he felt great enthusiasm in meeting with thousands of students from China and Japan, and the exchange between them would considerably support Sino-Japanese cooperation. Seeing the students warmly talking and deepening mutual understanding, he sincerely expected them to adopt a new attitude towards the future and to paint a new blueprint for future Sino-Japanese cooperation.
Cheng Yonghua thanked the leaders of the two countries for their great attention to Sino-Japanese relations and this event. He pointed out: "The foundation of Sino-Japanese friendship resists in the youth." He hoped that the young people of the two countries could jointly carry forward the faith of China-Japan friendship and persist in being the promoters of China-Japan peace, friendship and cooperation.
For a long time, a large number of Chinese and Japanese universities have actively devoted themselves to the cultural exchanges and the cooperation in science and education, and have achieved fruitful results—the “China-Japan University Student Exchange Conference” is a successful example. A number of Chinese and Japanese university leaders attended the event. Akira Haseyama and Lin Jianhua addressed the conference.
Akira Haseyama recalled his unforgettable experience of exchanging ideas with worldwide Principals in the "Double-Class" Construction International Forum and the Beijing Forum (2018). He visited Peking University more than 30 years ago and witnessed this long-established school guarding the tradition in compliance with zeitgeist to make continuous progress. He hoped that Japanese and Chinese students present here could understand each other's cultural traditions and pay tribute to them.
In his speech, Lin Jianhua highly affirmed the significance and influence of the first "China-Japan University Student Exchange Conference" held last year. He pointed out that as two important economies in the world, China and Japan were situated at the center of the changing era and had attracted attention from the world. People living in today's world have both unlimited opportunities and cruel challenges. Lin Jianhua advocated that young people of the two countries should walk at the forefront, study hard, and strive to increase their knowledge, so as to constantly collide with sparks of thought, to appreciate the panorama of the world, to actively contemplate imminent problems, and to provide more constructive solutions.
Youths are the future of friendly relations between the two countries. Generations of young people from both countries have thrived under the banner of peace and friendship, and they have continuously contributed wisdom and strength to the sustained and healthy development of bilateral relations. At the "Sino-Japanese University Student Exchange Conference" last year, student representatives from both sides published the "Declaration on Peace and Friendship between Chinese and Japanese University Students". Today, thousands of Chinese and Japanese university students gather at Peking University to inherit the spiritual torch of peace and friendship between the two countries. Zhang Yixuan, a student representative of Peking University, and Kouta Nakajima, a student representative of the University of Tokyo, spoke on behalf of Chinese and Japanese university students.
The conference is part of the 1000-person exchange program between Chinese and Japanese students. The program was hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Japan and sponsored by Peking University. It received strong support from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and other departments and was responded positively from all walks of life in Japan.
At the invitation of the Chinese Embassy in Japan and the Consulate General in Osaka, the Japan-China Friendship Association, the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association and other organizations recruited 500 Japanese university students to visit China. The Japan Friendship Association, the China Education International Exchange Association, and the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries hosted the event. Japanese university student representatives visited China in late August and gathered in Beijing on the 29th, joint by teachers and students from Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Language and Culture University and other guests, more than a thousand people attended the conference.
On the morning of the same day, Chinese and Japanese students participated in a series of cultural exchange activities. They visited Beida campus and enjoyed themselves in colorful association activities. Additionally, nearly 500 Japanese university students also went to Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shanxi and other places to participate in local visits and exchanges.
Written by: Li Haiyue
Edited by: Wei Yunqi
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
