On Nov. 9, 2011, Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun met with the Japanese delegation of youth cadres headed by Shoichi Umezu, President of Japan's Forum 21.

Vice Minister Zhai said that next year marks the 40th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations and the bilateral relations are facing new opportunities for development. China will work together with the Japanese government and communities to expand friendly exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and lift China-Japan strategic and mutually beneficial relations to a higher level. He expressed the hope that the delegation members could obtain a more comprehensive, objective, in-depth understanding of China through the visit and become the backbones for promoting China-Japan cooperation and carrying on China-Japan friendship.

Umezu expressed the belief that this visit will increase the understanding of the Japanese youth on China and contribute to promoting Japan-China economic cooperation and deepening the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.