Stories of the China Reform Friendship Medal recipients

5. Masayoshi Ohira

Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira addresses the media in Paris, France, May 3, 1973. [File photo: AFP]

Masayoshi Ohira served as the 43rd Prime Minister of Japan starting in 1978. He later died of a heart attack while in office in 1980.

Masayoshi Ohira promoted the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan during his term of office. He accompanied then-Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka on a visit China as his Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1972. Ohira was said to be critical in helping push forward the normalizing of Sino-Japanese post-war diplomatic relations. In 1974, Masayoshi Ohira visited China again to sign the first China-Japan Trade Agreement as the Foreign Minister on behalf of the Japanese Government.

On December 5, 1979, now-Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira and his wife were invited to China once again, marking his 3rd trip to China. However, this trip marked the first time a Japanese prime minister was able to step on Chinese soil after the normalization of diplomatic relations.

6. Lee Kuan Yew

Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. [File Photo: VCG]

Lee Kuan Yew was the first post-colonial Prime Minister of Singapore. His connections to China can be traced back to his great-grandfather, Lee Bok Boon, who emigrated from Dabu County, Guangdong Province, to Singapore in 1863.

In 1978, then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping travelled to Singapore to discuss with Lee Kuan Yew ways of moving forward with national reform. It's said that his time in Singapore reaffirmed Deng's resolution to press ahead with his plans for reform and opening-up.

In the 1990s following his retirement from office, Lee Kuan Yew continued to maintain economic links with China, helping promote an eco-economic model to Chinese authorities, while also acting as a liaison for economic negotiations between the two sides.

Lee Kuan Yew also insisted that the Chinese language be taught in schools across Singapore, helping facilitate even more links between the two nations. Lee Kuan Yew died in March, 2015. His son is current Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.