劉丁睿 賀煜

Takada Mari， New Japanese Consul-General in Chongqing：

Enabling More Japanese People and Companies to Appreciate Chongqings Charm

By Liu Dingrui/ The World and Chongqing? ?Photo by He Yu/ The World and Chongqing

“I am committed to promoting economic cooperation and trade， people-to-people exchanges， and mutual understanding between Japan and Chongqing”， said by Takada Mari， new Consul-General of Japan in Chongqing after coming to her post one month later.

Before she came to the Municipality on November 15th， 2021， Takada Mari worked in diplomatic and consular missions in Beijing and Hong Kong SAR in China， Pakistan， and Indonesia. “Compared with the city that I visited 25 years ago on an official trip， the Chongqing today has gone through tremendous changes. This is a totally different city than that in my memory.” She has developed a love for Chongqing where the old and new buildings are orchestrated perfectly. Hongyadong has a striking resemblance of architectures in the Japanese animated film Spirited Away. Modern skyscrapers and ancient temples form a skyline unique to this city. All of these have enabled people to sense the extensive and profound culture behind Chongqing.

“I like the food here， Chongqing Hotpot， Xiaomian （Chongqing Noodles）， and fermented tofu. I want to know more about the tea culture and explore hot springs as well.” She was confident in bringing Chongqing-Japan friendship and interactions closer by tapping the enormous potential of development and peoples spending in this Emerging Tier-1 City in China. Many young Chongqing people have been fascinated by Japanese comics and animations. After COVID-19， more Chongqing tourists are welcomed to visit Japan， feeling the Japanese culture in a more up-close way.

“Ahead of Chongqing are unprecedented development opportunities presented by Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-Hub Mega-Region.”

Japan established its consular post in Chongqing in 1998 which was the earliest one in this city. Since its establishment， the Japanese Consulate-General in Chongqing has been committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation in politics， economy， education， culture， etc. between China and Japan. Consul-General Takada Mari said that her team will do their best as always， play their role in the consular districts， and expand Chongqing-Japan interactions and collaborations.

“Over the past few years， Chinas great achievements and its strong economic momentum have been felt in the inland， particularly in southwestern places like Chongqing and Sichuan. They are booming and burgeoning， developing even faster than the national average.” Consul-General Takada Mari believed that ahead of Chongqing are unprecedented development opportunities presented by Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-Hub Mega-Region. During this process， the Consulate-General will work actively to engage in and contribute to the development of this national strategy and enable more Japanese people and companies to appreciate Chongqings charm.

As we speak， Chongqing is fast-tracking its pace to become a center of international exchanges in Western China. However， there are challenges as well. Consul-General Takada Mari noted that a lot of Japanese companies would like to find more about Chongqings latest development. She suggested that Chongqing should continue to enhance its international outreach efforts so as to let the world know about Chongqings strong socio-economic development momentum， the open doing-business environment， and so on. Chongqing should strengthen its foreign trade， make the city more well-known in the world， and improve its influence in the region. She expected to see Chongqing as a hub of regional and international exchanges in Western China.

“I look forward to enhancing cultural interactions with Chongqing as an important part of greater mutual learning between China and Japan.”

From January 1st， 2022， the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） agreement has entered into force， signed among 15 countries including China and Japan. Consul-General Takada Mari was positive about the enormous boosting effect of RCEP to the economic globalization as it has fostered the worlds largest free trade area. It will also make Chinese and Japanese markets more open， stimulate economic growth， and generate more benefits to the peoples of our countries.

“China is pursuing green development and carbon neutrality. Chongqing is taking actions such as garbage sorting， environmental protection， and energy conservation. These are opportunities to team up with Japanese companies in these sectors.” As Consul-General Takada Mari presented， Japan values environmental protection and has leading experience and technologies in the green sector and clean energy. The two sides could exchange ideas in these sectors and work together for green development.

2022 celebrates the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. A series of events have already been held， Consul-General Takada Mari said， such as Sichuan-Chongqing Japanese Essay/Speech Contest， China-Japan Online Symposium on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation， and Japan Festival. She looked forward to more exchanges with Chongqing in culture， education， and among the young people to further promote mutual learning of the two civilizations.

“希望能夠進(jìn)一步推進(jìn)日本和重慶的經(jīng)貿(mào)發(fā)展，推動日中兩國人民交流和相互理解?！比毡抉v重慶總領(lǐng)事高田真里在履新一個月之際，表達(dá)了這樣的愿景。

高田真里總領(lǐng)事于2021年11月15日到任重慶，她曾在北京、香港，以及巴基斯坦、印度尼西亞的外交領(lǐng)事機(jī)構(gòu)工作過?！?5年前我曾因公到訪過重慶，這次來重慶履新，眼前這座城市發(fā)生了翻天覆地的變化，完全顛覆了曾經(jīng)的印象。”高田真里說，非常喜歡重慶新舊建筑融合的城市風(fēng)光，這里不僅有和日本動漫《千與千尋》中場景相似的洪崖洞，還有重慶獨特的現(xiàn)代高樓大廈和古代寺廟相結(jié)合的城市建筑風(fēng)格，彰顯出這座城市深厚的文化底蘊(yùn)。

“重慶的火鍋、小面、腐乳等食物我非常喜歡，也想更多地了解重慶的茶文化、溫泉文化等?！备咛镎胬镎f，重慶已經(jīng)成為中國的新一線城市，其消費力和發(fā)展?jié)摿ψ屛腋行判淖龊么龠M(jìn)重慶和日本的友好交流工作。日本的動畫、漫畫、游戲在重慶受到很多年輕人的關(guān)注，希望在新冠肺炎疫情結(jié)束后，有更多重慶人可以前去日本旅游，更加直接了解日本文化。

“在成渝地區(qū)雙城經(jīng)濟(jì)圈建設(shè)中，重慶將迎來前所未有的發(fā)展機(jī)遇”

日本于1998年在重慶設(shè)立領(lǐng)事機(jī)構(gòu)，是最早在重慶設(shè)立領(lǐng)事機(jī)構(gòu)的國家。日本駐重慶總領(lǐng)事館自設(shè)立以來，始終致力于推動中國與日本在政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、教育、文化等領(lǐng)域交流合作。高田真里表示，未來總領(lǐng)事館將立足領(lǐng)區(qū)，一如既往地做好服務(wù)各界的工作，進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)大重慶與日本的交流合作。

“近年來，中國的發(fā)展取得巨大的成就，經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的潮流已深入內(nèi)陸地區(qū)，特別是重慶、四川等西南地區(qū)的蓬勃發(fā)展，甚至超越了中國平均水平?！备咛镎胬锉硎?，相信在成渝地區(qū)雙城經(jīng)濟(jì)圈建設(shè)中，重慶將迎來前所未有的發(fā)展機(jī)遇，日本駐重慶總領(lǐng)事館也將積極謀劃，就如何參與助推成渝地區(qū)雙城經(jīng)濟(jì)圈建設(shè)進(jìn)行深入思考，讓更多的日本民眾和企業(yè)了解重慶的魅力。

目前，重慶正在加快建設(shè)中西部國際交往中心，高速發(fā)展的同時也面臨著挑戰(zhàn)。高田真里表示，很多日本企業(yè)希望更多地了解重慶的發(fā)展情況，建議重慶應(yīng)持續(xù)加強(qiáng)國際宣傳力度，對外宣介重慶強(qiáng)勁的經(jīng)濟(jì)社會發(fā)展勢頭、開放的營商環(huán)境等，不斷提高經(jīng)濟(jì)外向度、國際知名度和影響力，以及區(qū)域輻射帶動能力，將重慶建設(shè)成為中國中西部地區(qū)與國際社會互相往來的中心。

“期待與重慶推進(jìn)文化等領(lǐng)域的交流，進(jìn)一步加強(qiáng)中日兩國文明互鑒”

2022年1月1日，中國和日本等15國共同簽署的《區(qū)域全面經(jīng)濟(jì)伙伴關(guān)系協(xié)定》（RCEP）正式生效。高田真里認(rèn)為，RCEP建立起全球最大的自貿(mào)區(qū)，將對經(jīng)濟(jì)全球化發(fā)展帶來很大的推動作用，同時也將有力地促進(jìn)中國和日本的市場更加開放，有效刺激經(jīng)濟(jì)增長，從而給兩國民眾帶來更多紅利。

“中國目前提倡綠色發(fā)展、碳中和理念，重慶正在大力推廣垃圾分類、保護(hù)環(huán)境和節(jié)能減排，這為日本環(huán)保產(chǎn)業(yè)提供了合作機(jī)會。”高田真里稱，日本是一個非常重視環(huán)保的國家，在綠色環(huán)保、清潔能源等方面經(jīng)驗技術(shù)較為領(lǐng)先，希望可以在此領(lǐng)域開展廣泛交流，共同推動綠色發(fā)展。

2022年是日中邦交正?；?0周年，高田真里介紹，日本駐重慶總領(lǐng)事館近期舉辦了四川·重慶日語作文演講大賽、中日防災(zāi)減災(zāi)線上研討會、日本嘉年華等活動。她表示，期待繼續(xù)與重慶共同推進(jìn)文化、教育、青少年等領(lǐng)域交流，進(jìn)一步加強(qiáng)兩國文明互鑒。