On July 8, 2024, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong met with Professor Nobuo Shimotomai from Hosei University of Japan, who was in China to attend the 12th World Peace Forum, and they had a friendly and in-depth exchange of views on China-Japan relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest and concern. Liu expressed the importance he attached to Shimotomai's research on the history of the Cold War and international relations in Northeast Asia, and believed that relevant countries should learn from history, draw lessons from World War II and the Cold War, cherish the hard-won peace and stability in the region, and be vigilant against and resist any form of "new Cold War".