500 Japanese, Chinese university students take part in exchange event
BEIJING (Kyodo) -- About 500 Japanese and Chinese college students took part in an exchange event Thursday at Renmin University of China in Beijing, with dance, martial arts and calligraphy performances featured on stage.
Some 300 Japanese students got together in the Chinese capital to interact with about 200 Chinese students after visiting areas such as Shanghai and the provinces of Shanxi, Jiangxi and Yunnan in several groups since Saturday.
Chikara Oe, a 21-year-old student from Tohoku University in Japan, said he joined the exchange program and visited China for the first time as he was interested in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence in the country.
"I only had information (on China) from social media, so I wanted to see the country with my own eyes," Oe said. "Shanghai was like a future city and I thought it was more developed than Japan. After I return home, I will recommend my friends to visit China and have first-hand experiences."
Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi said in his speech at the event that it is "the will of the two countries' leaders to further promote personal and cultural exchanges," stressing the importance of deepening mutual understanding among younger generations who will be responsible for future bilateral ties.
The envoy called for more people-to-people exchanges, saying negative public sentiment toward each other remains a challenge. An annual survey showed last year that nearly 90 percent of respondents in each of the neighboring Asian countries had an unfavorable impression of the other.
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