On October 16, 2025, the 26th China-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Friendship Cities Exchange Conference was held in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. The event was co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the People's Government of Jiangsu Province, Japan's Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), and the Governors Association of the Republic of Korea (GAOK), and co-organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and the Yancheng Municipal People's Government. President Yang Wanming and Vice President Yuan Mindao of the CPAFFC; Zhao Yan, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province; Zhou Bin, Secretary of the CPC Yancheng Municipal Committee; Mitsuru Yasuda, President of CLAIR; and You Min-bong, Secretary-General of GAOK, attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks. Yan Hanping, Mayor of Yancheng, presided over the opening ceremony. Approximately 450 participants joined the conference, including officials and representatives from 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) of China, 19 prefectures of Japan, and nine provinces and cities of the ROK, as well as delegates from various sectors.
(Conference venue)
Under the theme "Subnational Cooperation for Win-Win Outcomes, Openness and Inclusiveness for Development", participants held in-depth discussions on topics including "Revitalizing Local Economies and Promoting Coordinated Development", "Driving Carbon Reduction through Innovation for a Shared and Beautiful Homeland", and "Empowering Culture and Tourism through Ecology to Share Eastern Civilization." The conference reached broad, constructive consensus.
(Top left: President Yang Wanming delivers remarks; Top right: Vice Governor Zhao Yan delivers remarks; Bottom left: President Mitsuru Yasuda delivers remarks; Bottom right: Secretary-General You Min-bong delivers remarks.)
President Yang noted that China, Japan, and the ROK are close neighbors and important cooperation partners. In response to complex global challenges, President Xi Jinping has proposed the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, along with the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative—providing greater certainty, stability, and positive momentum for the world. Subnational cooperation is a vital part of trilateral relations: to date, China and Japan have established 268 pairs of friendship cities, and China and the ROK 228 pairs. The CPAFFC stands ready to build more platforms for exchanges and cooperation among subnational governments, pool strengths, deepen economic and trade cooperation, spur sci-tech innovation, expand people-to-people exchanges, and promote sustainable development, jointly upgrading trilateral cooperation to better benefit the peoples of the three countries and contribute to regional prosperity and stability.
Vice Governor Zhao Yan said Jiangsu has consistently followed the direction set by President Xi Jinping, actively advancing people-to-people friendship and external cooperation, and steadily expanding engagement with Japan and the ROK, thereby fostering mutual benefit and closer ties among peoples. He expressed hope that this conference would serve as a new starting point to deepen mutual understanding and friendship through diverse cultural, educational, and people-to-people exchanges, strengthening the social foundation for sound state-to-state relations. Jiangsu will tighten economic and trade linkages, deepen cooperation on industrial and supply chains, scientific and technological innovation, and green, low-carbon development, and contribute to regional economic integration among China, Japan, and the ROK. The province will also build more platforms and vehicles for cooperation, promote cultural exchange and mutual learning, share development dividends and achievements, and pass on the friendship among friendship cities to future generations.
President Yasuda Mitsuru of the CLAIR observed that subnational exchanges and cooperation among the three countries continue to deepen and yield tangible results. As globalization advances, subnational governments are playing an increasingly important role in international engagement. Gathering in Yancheng to share experience and discuss common challenges helps enhance mutual understanding and trust, broaden areas of cooperation, and inject vitality into the prosperity and development of Northeast Asia. He looked forward to deeper exchanges on key topics such as regional economic revitalization, the transition to a zero-carbon society, and the promotion of cultural tourism.
Secretary-General You Min-bong of the GAOK noted that over the past 26 years the conference has played a positive role in advancing trilateral subnational cooperation. This year's edition is especially significant, fostering a favorable atmosphere for people-to-people cooperation ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held in the ROK later this month. She expressed hope that subnational governments would further strengthen cooperation, promote the sharing of advanced technologies, rich cultural resources, and ecological strengths, address multiple challenges together, and open a new chapter of sustainable development in Northeast Asia.
Secretary Zhou Bin said Yancheng enjoys longstanding ties and friendly exchanges with Japan and the ROK, having established friendship city or friendly-exchange relations with 18 cities in the two countries. As an important window for Jiangsu's economic and trade cooperation with Japan and the ROK, Yancheng will take this conference as a new starting point to more proactively integrate into the broader framework of trilateral subnational cooperation, further strengthen economic, industrial, and cultural exchanges, and contribute Yancheng's strength to the cause of China-Japan-ROK friendship.
(Meeting of the main guests)
During the conference, activities included meetings among major guests, a mayors' roundtable, and a city exchange fair. Agreements were signed on friendship city partnerships, a joint working mechanism, and tourism cooperation. Delegates also visited projects on industrial cooperation and ecological protection.
(Signing ceremony and city exchange fair)
Established in 1999, the China-Japan-ROK Friendship Cities Exchange Conference rotates among the three countries and serves as an important institutionalized platform for cooperation among subnational governments. The next conference will be held in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in 2026.
