With the advance of economic globalization, further improving economic cooperation between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), and establishing a flexible as well as stable trilateral relations have now become the common consensus of the entrepreneurs of the three countries.
More than 200 entrepreneurs from the three countries gathered Tuesday in Beijing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK. They agreed to seeking more opportunities to jointly promote regional economic development.
An evening banquet was held for the entrepreneurs of the three countries by the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and ROK Chamber of Commerce in China.
CCPIT President Yu Xiaosong said that regional economic cooperation has maintained a strong momentum in recent years, under the influence of economic globalization. The active and smooth cooperation and exchanges between China, Japan and the ROK are of great importance in maintaining the prosperity and stability of the whole region.
Director General Hatakeyama Noboru of JETRO, who is heading a Japanese entrepreneurs delegation to China, said that China, Japan and ROK are close in geography, similar in culture and complementary in industrial structures, which provide excellent conditions for economic cooperation.
According to the CCPIT, the trade volume between China and Japan in 2001 reached 87 billion U.S. dollars-worth, making Japan the biggest trade partner of China for nine years running. Meanwhile, the trade volume between China and the ROK hit 35.9 billion U.S. dollars-worth, almost six times higher than ten years ago.
(People's Daily May 29, 2002)
