BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 China International Cartoon Competition opened Wednesday in Beijing to boost international cultural exchanges.

The event was hosted by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration (CFLPA) and undertaken by the People's China magazine and other companies.

The competitions will be primarily held in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to collect cartoons telling stories of the aforementioned countries and help young cartoonists pursue international cooperation opportunities.

Lu Cairong, vice president of CFLPA, expressed hope that participants would enhance mutual understanding through creating comics and help promote international civilian friendship.

Stating that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship and the 90th anniversary on the birth of Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka, Lu also spoke of Osamu's important contributions to China-Japan friendship.

A number of cartoonists have emerged and injected fresh impetus into the industry of both countries since the first China-Japan cartoon competition was jointly held by CFLPA in 2016.