Strengthen cooperation and exchanges for mutual benefit and win-win achievement

Lu Meilian

T he global pandemic will never hinder exchanges between international friendship cities， let alone their aspirations for communication. Under the strong guidance of the CPAFFC and the Fujian Foreign Affairs Office， the Zhangzhou Foreign Affairs Office took steps to innovate approaches to communication with its foreign counterparts. Although the pandemic made cross-border exchanges impossible， they used cloud technology to enhance international communications for greater cooperation. These moves effectively helped accelerate the city’s campaign to build a modern coastal city.

On the afternoon of Dec 17， the 30th anniversary of the establishment of international friendship-city relations between Zhangzhou， China， and Isahaya， Japan， was held online. Mayors Wang Jinzu and Okubo Yukishige delivered speeches and signed the memorandum of exchange and cooperation. During the commemoration activities， the two sides watched videos promoting the two cities’ new urban scenery， young people’s “cloud greetings” and a student cultural performance. ViceMayor Cui Weilei of Zhangzhou and various heads of city bureaus attended the commemoration.

Pass the baton of friendship from generation to generation

On behalf of the Zhangzhou government and the 5.23 million people of the city， Mayor Wang extended his sincere greetings and gratitude to Mayor Okubo Yukishige and the Isahaya government — as well as to people from all walks of life for their efforts to promote friendly exchanges between the two cities. After a brief introduction of Zhangzhou， Wang Jinzu noted that Isahaya is an important industrial base in Nagasaki Prefecture and boasts superior climate conditions， beautiful scenery， a profound cultural heritage and a developed high-tech industry， thus leaving broad space for cooperation with Zhangzhou in many fields.

Wang expressed hope that the two cities will cherish their 30 years of deep friendship and valuable experience of mutual development and take the cooperation memorandum as a new starting point to further expand bilateral cooperation in modern agriculture， food processing， ecotourism， rural construction， medicine， health， culture and tourism.

By strengthening people-topeople bonds， the baton of friendship will surely be passed on from generation to generation， Wang said， adding that Zhangzhou always welcomes Japanese friends from all walks of life to visit Zhangzhou for investment or sightseeing. By planning future cooperation together， mutual benefit and win-win results will hopefully be achieved with Isahaya， he said.

Mayor Okubo Yukishige said that while the two sides could not meet face to face because of the pandemic， he was happy to communicate with Zhangzhou online. He said he looked forward to meeting friends in Zhangzhou soon， noting that it had been 30 years since Zhangzhou and Isahaya established international friendship city relations. In the past， the two sides visited each other and carried out in-depth exchanges in sports and other fields. Looking forward， he expressed hope that Zhangzhou and Isahaya would carry out exchanges and cooperation in more fields. He said he wishes that friendly relations between the two cities will last forever.

Twists and turns never overwhelm warmth of the world

Students from Chinzei Gakuin College recorded a video greeting for the commemoration， saying， “Over the past 30 years， Isahaya has changed a lot. However， there are things that stay unchanged， including the eternal friendship between us. We look forward to exchanges in more fields， and the rich fruits of our friendship.”

The Zhangzhou Foreign Affairs Office and the Communist Youth League Zhangzhou Committee invited the Japanese language majors from Minnan Normal University to shoot a video themed “Narcissus and Cherry Blossom： 30 years hand in hand —Zhangzhou youth send online greetings to Isahaya”.

The Chinese students said in the video： “Zhangzhou and Isahaya forged a precious friendship of three decades. Over the past 30 years， the city governments have worked together consistently， and the people have worked hand in hand to push friendly relations to a new high. We look forward to inviting you to visit Zhangzhou， a famous historical and cultural city in China， where you can enjoy Chinese tea， appreciate the beautiful narcissus， the traditional local culture and the fascinating scenery.”

The video deeply touched the participants on Isahaya side.

Promising economic and trade cooperation

As the largest grain producing area in Nagasaki Prefecture， Isahaya boasts rapidly-developing horticultural facilities， a growing forest area， a developed fishery and a marine leisure industry. The Isahaya central industrial zone and the Kyushu cross motor vehicle road have made Isahaya an industrial stronghold in Nagasaki County. Its main industries are processing and manufacturing of food， metal products， iron and steel and electrical machinery. It has successively built high-tech enterprises related to electronics， aviation and aerospace to become the second-largest industrial base in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Isahaya is Zhangzhou’s first international friendship city. Since the establishment of friendship-city relations， they have organized several economic and trade delegations to visit each other， participated in each other’s major trade events， and held economic and trade promotion meetings to actively promote projects， with 54 groups of 463 people visiting each other. Isahaya offers legal and policy consultation for Zhangzhou enterprises to invest in Isahaya； provides import supervision information for Zhangzhou litchi， narcissus and other agricultural products to enter the Japanese market； and promotes the export of Zhangzhou quick-frozen fruits， vegetables and other agricultural products to Japan. With the help of Isahaya， Zhangzhou took the lead in the export of fresh litchi to Japan.

At the online commemoration meeting， Cui Weilei， vice-mayor of Zhangzhou， expressed hope that the two sides would embark on a new journey of communication and cooperation and write a new chapter of friendly exchanges. Mayor Okubo agreed that the two sides would promote exchanges and cooperation in economy， trade， culture and other fields through online exchanges in the future.

Cultural and sports exchanges serve as bridges

T o c o m m e m o r a t e t h e normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations， the two cities co-organized table tennis teams in six years — 1992， 1997， 2002， 2007， 2012 and 2017 — in Beijing， to join the China-Japan Friendship Cities Junior Middle School Students Table Tennis Friendship Tournament， which achieved good results. The volleyball， football and martial arts teams of middle school students in the two cities organized exchange visits and held friendly games.

The Zhangzhou Puppet Troupe performed in Isahaya to showcase the Chinese city’s traditional culture. Some people in Isahaya volunteered to organize the Friendship Association of the Isahaya Library， which donated 246 books in nine batches to Zhangzhou. A special “Isahaya Library” was set up in the Zhangzhou Library to display the donated books. Zhangzhou also donated books to Isahaya and set up a “Zhangzhou Library” within the Isahaya Library.

Yo u n g s t e r s o f t h e t w o cities participated in activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of friendship city relations and made cultural and artistic videos in hope that the two cities would continuously improve the level of cultural openness and actively carry out cross-cultural exchanges. The guqin— a traditional musical instrument— performance from Isahaya Meihou Middle School won third place in a contest in Japan. Students from the Guqin Club of Meihou Middle School made videos of performances for their Zhangzhou counterparts， saying that they were very happy to participate in the celebration of the 30th anniversary and hoped that the friendship between the two cities would last forever.

With support from Zhangzhou TV station， Big Drum and Cool Umbrella was recorded by students from Zhangzhou Experimental Primary School and the Joyful Puppet Show was recorded by students from Zhangzhou Xiangkou Central Primary School. Both won rounds of applause from guests from Isahaya. The students of the puppet troupe at Xiangkou Central Primary School shot videos conveying greetings： “Zhangzhou-Isahaya join hands for 30 years； friendship cities together for a better future”. The deputy curator of the Moriyama Library， Doi Tatsuko， said： “A big thank-you for these sincere and lovely children， who moved us very much！”

Cooperation in fighting epidemic

After the outbreak of the epidemic in early 2020， Mayor Akio Miyamoto of Isahaya， caring about Zhangzhou very much， wrote a letter of sympathy， saying： “Hope the epidemic will end as early as possible. We have sent you a batch of masks. Although not much， we hope these masks will be helpful. Please do not hesitate to ask should you need any help， as we are a friendship city of Zhangzhou. We sincerely hope that we can continue to make contributions to Zhangzhou in the future.”

A batch of medical supplies from the medical supplies storage warehouse was sent promptly to friendship city Zhangzhou.

In March 2020， with the outbreak of COVID-19 in many countries around the world， Zhangzhou immediately donated a batch of masks to Isahaya. The mayor wrote a letter “to express most sincere gratitude on behalf of all citizens. By weathering the hard times together， the friendship between the two cities will surely deepen”.

The international anti-pandemic cooperation between friendship cities has written a chapter of friendship featuring mutual assistance and solidarity. It was praised by the CPAFFC and covered by media outlets such as the Xuexi Qiangguo Platform and China News Service.

Sincerity： Key to lasting friendship

A good companion makes a far distance near.

The commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Zhangzhou-Isahaya international friendship-city relations was a grand gathering of friendship， a milestone in the 30 years of exchanges and a new starting point for Zhangzhou and Isahaya to build a brighter future.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Zhangzhou -Isahaya international friendship-city relations， the two will embark on a new voyage， strengthen cooperation in broader areas for win-win results， build a more solid bridge of mutual support and draw a blueprint for common prosperity and development.