Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), said in Beijing on June 20 he hopes Chinese and Japanese youth organizations will carry out more friendly exchanges in the future.

He made the remarks when meeting with a delegation of the Japan Junior Chamber (JC), headed by JC President Takatake Kazuaki.

The delegation, composed of 376 Japanese entrepreneurs, is here for a visit on the 20th anniversary of the friendly exchanges between All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) and JC.

Wang said the present difficult situation of Sino-Japanese relations goes against the common interests of the two peoples. " The two countries should follow the spirit of taking history as a mirror and looking up to the future, and take concrete measures to carry out the five-point proposal made by Chinese President Hu Jintao on developing Sino-Japanese relations."

Wang expressed his hope that ACYF and JC will enhance exchanges and cooperation in a bid to deepen mutual understanding, expand common interests and contribute to the healthy, stable development of Sino-Japanese ties.

Takatake Kazuaki said he will continue to make his own contribution to promoting Sino-Japanese youth exchanges and bilateral ties.

The JC, founded in 1951, is one of the largest non-government organization of the young people in Japan. Its members are mainly owners of small and medium-sized enterprises at the age of below 40. Since it established relations with ACYF in 1985, JC has sent delegations to visit China almost every year.

Takatake Kazuaki said at a press conference Monday afternoon that the visiting delegation is the largest ever sent by JC. "The 20 years' friendly exchanges between JC and ACYF demonstrates the sincere friendship between the two countries' youth," he said.

He said he hopes youth of both countries will take the opportunity of the 20th anniversary of Japan-China youth exchanges and surmount difficulty of bilateral ties to make efforts to continue the friendly relations.

Currently some problems exist between the two countries, which requires the youth to frankly exchange opinions and overcome the difficulties, he said.

During stay in Beijing, the delegation will donate 10 million yen (91.600 US dollars) scholarship to China Youth University for Political Sciences.

Source: Xinhua