As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and Japan has entered the new era of Reiwa, the two countries designated the year 2019 as China-Japan Youth Exchange Promotion Year, and decided to arrange 30,000 young people to make exchanges and mutual visits in the next five years.

From November 23 to 30, eight student representatives of Changzhou University, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Changzhou Campus of Hohai University and Jiangsu University of Technology visited Japan for an eight-day friendly exchange event.

The Changzhou student delegation, led by Zhou Weidong, secretary-general of Jiangsu People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, together with the Jiangsu delegation, visited the Fukuoka Prefectural Government Office, the Kyushu Institute of Technology, the Waseda University, and relevant cultural institutions. The delegates attended Sino-Japanese dialogue and participated in large-scale exchange activities. The students also had a chance to stay with Japanese host families to experience local customs.

On April 14, 2019, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Taro Kono of Japan jointly attended and addressed the opening ceremony of China-Japan Youth Exchange Promotion Year in Beijing. Wang Yi expressed congratulations on the successful opening of the China-Japan Youth Exchange Promotion Year and said that China and Japan are close neighboring countries separated only by a strip of water. Although bilateral relations have undergone ups and downs and kept on moving forward amid the winding course, peace and friendship have always been the shared aspiration of the two peoples. Under the concerted efforts made by the two countries� leaders and all sectors of the society, China-Japan relations have returned to the right track since last year. The two sides strengthening youth exchanges will generate a positive and profound impact on enhancing the mutual understanding between the two peoples and consolidating the friendly public opinion foundation of the two countries.