The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Monday has awarded an honorary membership to Yoshio Nakata, chairman of the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade (JAPIT).

 

CCPIT chairman Wan Jifei awarded the membership certificate to Yoshio Nakata at a ceremony held in Beijing.

 

The honor comes in recognition of Nakata's unrelenting efforts to promote China-Japan friendship and bilateral trade cooperation, Wan said.

 

He praised Nakata for his contribution to normalizing relations between the two countries and for publicly opposing Japanese leaders' visits to Yasukuni Shrine.

 

With the efforts of people like Yoshio Nakata in Japan, China-Japan economic and trade ties have maintained good momentum since 1972, leading to mutual benefits, with trade hitting US$180 billion in 2005, Wan said.

 

Yoshio Nakata thanked the CCPIT for the honor, and said he would continue working for even stronger political and economic ties between the two countries.

 

Founded in September 1954, JAPIT is recognized in both China and Japan for its contribution to the normalization of bilateral relations in the 1970s and to the expansion of bilateral economic and trade ties over the last several decades.

 

Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japan's former prime minister, is the former chairman of JAPIT and Yohei Kono, Japanese House of Representatives Speaker, the current chairman.

 

The CCPIT, a nongovernmental organization, was founded by prominent Chinese economic figures in 1952.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2006)