Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday encouraged Japanese youth to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The Chinese leader made the remarks in a letter to Daichi Nakashima, the winner of the "Panda Cup All Japan Youth Essay Contest". 

Nakashima wrote to President Xi ahead of his upcoming visit to the Japanese city of Osaka to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, extending greetings and wishes to the Chinese president and expressing willingness to promote friendly China-Japan relations.  

Xi in response said that China and Japan are close neighbors separated merely by a strip of waters, and that the roots of the China-Japan relationship lie in its people. 

He encouraged the young generations of the two countries to promote cultural exchanges, foster mutual understanding, and develop long-lasting friendly ties between the two peoples in the future.

The "Panda Cup All Japan Youth Essay Contest" is hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Japan, People’s China magazine, and Japan Science Society.

The contest, which was held for the first time in 2014, is an essay writing competition in Japanese language for Japanese nationals.

Nakashima studied Chinese language and literature in college, and has actively participated in China-related essay contests and paid frequent visits to China. 

(Cover: The 2018 "Panda Cup All Japan Youth Essay Contest” is hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Japan, November 15, 2018. /Xinhua Photo)