The 23rd China-Japan-Korea Friendship Cities Exchange Conference was held in Nanchang, Jiangxi

　　China News Service, Nanchang, November 4th (Liu Zhankun and Chen Sandi) On the 4th, the 23rd China-Japan-Korea Friendship Cities Exchange Conference with the theme of "Win-Win Cooperation and Common Development-Building a Closer East Asian Community with a Shared Future" was held online. The combination of online and offline was held in Nanchang, Jiangxi.

　　This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea.

The conference was hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Jiangxi Provincial People's Government, the Japanese Self-Government International Association, and the Korea City Governors' Association, and hosted by the Jiangxi Provincial People's Government Foreign Affairs Office and the Jiangxi Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

On that day, more than 500 representatives of local governments, heads of friendship organizations and people from all walks of life from China, Japan and South Korea participated online, and more than 50 representatives from Jiangxi Province participated offline.

　　Ye Jianchun, Governor of Jiangxi Provincial People's Government, pointed out in his video speech that Jiangxi has always attached great importance to the construction of sister cities, and has concluded 9 pairs of sister cities and 11 pairs of sister city relations with Japan and South Korea respectively, and carried out practical cooperation in education, culture, economy and trade and other fields. Fruitful results have been achieved.

It is believed that by taking advantage of the sister city exchange conference, the friendship between China, Japan and South Korea will be more stable, exchanges and cooperation will be deepened, and people's friendship will be more profound.

　　Yuan Mindao, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, who attended the conference, said that China, Japan and South Korea are separated by a strip of water and have similar cultures. They have a long history of friendly exchanges and are important partners for each other.

Although the new crown pneumonia epidemic has caused a certain impact on the economic and social development of China, Japan and South Korea, with the joint efforts of all parties, China-Japan and China-South Korea exchanges and cooperation have overcome the impact of the epidemic and achieved growth against the trend.

We look forward to taking this conference as an opportunity, friends from sister cities of the three countries can share good practices and good experiences in related fields, deepen cooperation, and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results.

　　Yu Okamoto, chairman of the Japan Association for the Internationalization of Local Governments, said that the China-Japan-Korea Friendship Cities Exchange Conference has made great contributions to the promotion of exchanges and cooperation between the local governments of the three countries.

Taking the conference as an exchange platform, the three countries that are closely related geographically and culturally, share knowledge and experience, and gain new ideas and understanding, which is of great significance for promoting the development of local governments in the three countries.

It is my sincere hope that this conference can further strengthen the exchanges between the three countries, enhance the trust between the three countries, and further enhance the friendship between the three countries.

　　Lee Young-chan, director-general of the Council of Governors of South Korea, said that the local governments of China, Japan and South Korea are located in the heart of Northeast Asia, and there are many similarities between China, Japan and South Korea in terms of history, culture and geography.

It is believed that the exchanges and cooperation between local governments working hand in hand between cities and cities and regions and regions can establish a more far-reaching, friendly and sustainable cooperative relationship than the existing cooperation between countries.

More than 500 representatives of local governments of China, Japan and South Korea, heads of friendship organizations and people from all walks of life participated online, and more than 50 representatives from Jiangxi participated offline.

Photo by reporter Liu Zhankun

　　During the meeting, experts and scholars from China, Japan and South Korea, as well as local government representatives, made speeches on the topics of "digital economy and smart city, energy conservation and environmental protection and green and low carbon, medical cooperation and healthy elderly care", introduced their local development, and shared urban development experience and future. Strategic planning, talk about measures to strengthen local cooperation and exchanges among the three countries, and imagine the future blueprint for enhancing local friendship among the three countries.

　　In addition, local representatives of the three countries also conducted one-on-one online communication through the "City Exchange Square", and discussed the two sides to carry out higher-level and higher-quality exchanges and cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, culture, education, science and technology, and health.

　　Since 1999, the China-Japan-Korea Friendship Cities Exchange Conference has been held in turn by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Korea City Governors' Association, and the Japanese Association for Internationalization of Local Governments.

The 24th Congress will be held in Yamanashi, Japan in 2023.

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