Tomigawa Seibu, vice-governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, led a delegation to visit Xiamen, Fujian province on March 13 in a bid to explore further cooperation between the two places, local media reported.
Tomigawa highly praised the remarkable achievements made by Xiamen in economic and social development during a meeting with Han Jingyi, deputy mayor of Xiamen.
He said that this trip to Xiamen will help them learn expertise from the Chinese city, as well as share expertise on their part.
Tomigawa also expected that more ships will be launched between the two places to deliver more Chinese tourists to Okinawa.
Han briefed them on Xiamen's urban construction, foreign trade and external exchanges.
Xiamen has maintained close exchanges with Japan in the economy, culture, and tourism for a long time, during which Xiamen has carried out friendly exchanges with Okinawa, Nagasaki and Kumamoto.
Han said that Okinawa and Xiamen share many similarities and he hopes that the two places will further expand their exchanges in various fields to lay a more solid foundation to their relations.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
