Iwanaga Masashi, director of the Japan-China Economic Association Beijing Office [Photo/jinannews.com]

Jinan, the capital city of East China's Shandong province, is an important transportation hub and boasts unique talent resources, according to Iwanaga Masashi, director of the Japan-China Economic Association Beijing Office.

Iwanaga made the comment on Nov 3 during an exchange conference on economic and trade cooperation between Jinan and Japan.

Four years ago, when Iwanaga visited Jinan for the first time, he was deeply impressed.

"The unique spring culture in Jinan impressed me deeply. Today, when I arrived in Jinan again, I found that the city's development level had changed a lot compared with that of four years ago," he said.

He stated that he hopes more Japanese people will come to Jinan to enjoy the charm of the city and its spring water culture. He added that he is willing to push China-Japan friendship and cooperation to a higher level.

"Today's meeting in Jinan has invited a large number of Japanese companies and institutions. I believe this is an excellent opportunity to promote cooperation between the two sides," said Iwanaga.

The Japan-China Economic Association is a professional organization that focuses on economic relations between the two East Asia nations. The association is committed to promoting economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan and promoting friendly relations between peoples from both sides.

The association's primary role is to organize mutual visits of economic, trade and technical delegations from the two countries every year and provide communication and cooperation opportunities between representatives of Japanese economic communities and the Chinese government.