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On May 10, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Hokkaido together with H.E. Mr. Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.
 
On May 11, the two leaders attended the Third Japan-China Governors’ Forum in Sapporo City. Afterwards, they visited a plant of an automobile manufacturing company in Tomakomai City, followed by their visit to Eniwa City. Lastly, Prime Minister Abe saw Premier Li off at New Chitose Airport.
 
In his address at the Third Japan-China Governors’ Forum, the Prime Minister said,
 
“Thank you very much for inviting us to the Third Japan-China Governors’ Forum today.
 
First and foremost, I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on the success of this forum, with the attendance of Premier Li. I would like to express my respect for all the hard work of Governor Kiyoshi Ueda of Saitama Prefecture, President of the National Governors’ Association, and Ms. Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, in organizing this forum.
 
Today, the Governors and Vice Governors of Sichuan, Hebei, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Jiangxi Provinces of China are attending this forum. Taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my sincere and warmest welcome to all of you to Japan.
 
I hope that you will have fruitful exchanges of views together with the Governors in attendance from Hokkaido, Iwate, Yamagata, Saitama, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Tottori Prefectures of Japan.
 
Furthermore, I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Governor Harumi Takahashi for the wonderful hospitality given to Premier Li during his visit to Hokkaido.
 
I always look forward to visiting Hokkaido. Hokkaido is a particularly popular destination for many of the 7.36 million Chinese tourists who visited Japan last year. The Chinese film, ‘If You Are the One (Fēichéng Wùrǎo),’ which is set in Hokkaido, became a major hit in 2008. This title sounds really good; it makes me remember my own youth a little bit. I was told that this film sparked a Hokkaido boom among young people in China. This has given us a major hint in further bolstering local city exchange between the two countries.
 
Exchanges between sister cities of Japan and China began immediately after the normalization of diplomatic relations, starting with the sister city agreement between Kobe City and Tianjin City in 1973. There are now over 360 pairs of sister cities between Japan and China.
 
Such exchanges between local cities have continued to serve as a bond connecting the two countries, which has remained unbroken, and a constant source of friendship between our two countries no matter the circumstance of the Japan-China relations. These exchanges have been passed down from one generation to the next.
 
I was told that the main focus of today’s forum is how to carry out local government exchange moving forward, given the new situation surrounding our two countries. In particular, regional vitalization is indispensable to overcome a declining birthrate and the ageing of society, which are serious issues faced by both countries. I have raised regional revitalization as one of the most important policy issues and exerted my efforts on job creation and the increase of the birthrate as well as other relevant issues. I have heard that Premier Li is also making use of his experiences in Henan and Liaoning Provinces to promote equitable development, including poverty reduction, across all of China.
 
Towards the promotion of local economies and tourism as well as the creation of a resilient society, Japan and China could refer to each other’s experiences with these issues and undertake effective policies, putting our heads together. It is important that we materialize our ‘Mutually Beneficial Relationship based on Common Strategic Interests’ in a visible manner.
 
For instance, by bringing together Japan’s know-how in health care and China’s drone technology, it would be possible to improve health care and alleviate the impact of personnel shortages in sparsely populated areas, wouldn’t it. The possibilities for cooperation between our two countries are expanding significantly. Today, I hope that you will bring together your collective wisdom and have a lively discussion on new forms of local government exchanges and regional cooperation between Japan and China.
 
Last but not least, I would like to express my profound respect and appreciation to everyone in attendance today who are working hard on the front lines of local city exchange between our two countries on a daily basis. It is my sincere hope that today’s forum will be a great success.”