China, Japan, ROK hold dialogue to strengthen cooperation

The roundtable of the 8th China-Japan-ROK Cooperation Dialogue. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On Jan 17, the 8th China-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Cooperation Dialogue themed "CJK Cooperation in the Post Pandemic Era" was held both in Haikou and online with the attendance of more than 50 experts and scholars from China, Japan, and ROK.

With the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) coming into effect this year, China established free trade ties with Japan and ROK under this framework. In 2020, the GDP of China, Japan, and ROK accounted for 82.44 percent of the GDP in the RCEP region. The economic and trade cooperation between the three countries will have a significant impact on the implementation of RCEP.

Hu Zhengyue, vice president of China Public Diplomacy Association, delivered the opening speech. He affirmed the cooperation achievements of China, Japan, and ROK in the past two years and proposed that the three countries should strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy, humanities, health, and sustainable development in the future.

Masakazu Toyoda, chairman and CEO of the Japan Economic Foundation, pointed out that the RCEP has broken down trade and investment barriers and further enhanced the economic and trade relations between China, Japan, and ROK.

Kim Sung-Hwan, chairman of the East Asia Foundation, suggested that the three sides should cooperate on building a green supply chain. On the other hand, they should jointly cope with the challenges of aging populations and declining birthrates faced by the three countries.

Ou Boqian, secretary general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, proposed that under the background of the continued impact of the epidemic, the three countries need to cooperate in the fields of health, RECP implementation, digital economy, green economy, solving the aging of populations and low birthrate, humanities, and diplomacy.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, said that China, Japan, and ROK should make good use of tariff reduction, exemption measures, and investment facilitation policies and to strive on realizing free trade in services.

The dialogue was comprised of three sessions, including "China, Japan, and ROK's joint action to promote the implementation of the RCEP," "China, Japan and ROK's joint action on building a secure, stable, and green supply chain," and "China, Japan, and ROK's policy and system for the aging populations and declining birthrates." This was co-hosted by the China Institute for Reform and Development, the China Public Diplomacy Association, the Japan Economic Foundation, and the East Asia Foundation.