On March 20, a delegation to China led by Katsuya Okada, a standing advisor to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, met with Li Shulei, head of the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People. For 1 hour and 40 minutes, significantly longer than scheduled, they had a meaningful discussion on the current state and issues of Japan-China relations, deepening inter-party exchanges, and strengthening friendly relations between the two countries.

At the beginning, Standing Advisor Okada pointed out that "high-level politicians must be more active in exchanging information" as a key issue in current Japan-China relations. As politicians who have worked hard for Japan-China relations retire one after another, he emphasized that "it is important to build a relationship that allows us to have solid discussions based on trust in times of crisis." Furthermore, based on his experience of visiting China every year for over 20 years and exchanging opinions with Chinese leaders, he said, "It is very important to nurture young talent who view relations with China as a major theme for politicians."Minister Li praised Okada, saying, "Mr. Okada is an old friend of ours who has maintained friendly exchanges with China for a long time." He added, "During his visit to China last year, he signed a memorandum of understanding on exchange and cooperation with our party on behalf of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, making an important contribution to the deepening and development of relations between the two parties." He went on to say that he would like to use this meeting to "exchange views on promoting practical cooperation between the two countries. I hope that this will lead to the creation of further platforms and projects for people-to-people and cultural exchange."

After the meeting, Okada said that Minister Li had visited various places such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Hokkaido, and commented, "He has a very good impression of Japan. I am very encouraged because he is an important person." On the other hand, he mentioned the result of a Japanese public opinion poll that 90% of Japanese people have harsh feelings toward China, and made two proposals for improving Japan-China relations. Regarding the issue of detaining Japanese nationals, he revealed that he "demanded that a proper explanation be given" regarding the current situation where trials are being held in secret. Furthermore, regarding the issue of Japanese seafood exports, he said, "Since the Chinese side is also involved in the investigation, I pointed out that I would like them to decide to resume exports as soon as possible."

The members of the visiting delegation to China include Permanent Advisor Okada, Youth Department Director General Ito Shunsuke, Next Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, Consumer Affairs, and Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Ishikawa Kaori, Deputy Secretary-General of the Abduction Issue Headquarters Umetani Mamoru and International Department General Manager Suzuki Kenichi. The delegation is scheduled to visit China from March 20 to 23, and will meet with party leaders, the Central International Liaison Department Director, and young leaders, as well as conduct local inspections.