China-Japan-South Korea business summit pledges efforts to promote cooperation

SEOUL -- More than 200 participants of the 8th China-Japan-South Korea Business Summit here on Monday hailed the resumption of trilateral economic and trade cooperation with fresh impetus injected after a hiatus of more than four years, pledging efforts to promote the cooperation between business communities.

The business figures from China, Japan and South Korea gathered on the sidelines of the 9th trilateral leaders' meeting held here on Sunday and Monday after a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last leaders' meeting was held in December 2019 in China's southwestern city of Chengdu.

Business communities in the three neighboring countries hailed the convening of the trilateral leaders' meeting and its outcomes, voiced support for trilateral economic cooperation, and pledged efforts towards closer cooperation in facilitating digital transition, stimulating trade, stabilizing supply chains, green transition, responses to population ageing, and healthcare, among other areas.

Guest speakers from China, Japan and South Korea at the summit shared their insight into economic revitalization and sustainable development amid the changes in regional and international situations, highlighting population ageing as a common socioeconomic challenge for the three nations demanding cooperation of the business communities in a proactive response.

As the three countries are all manufacturing powerhouses, some speakers called for collaboration in seeking solutions to the many common problems related to reducing carbon emissions, expecting cooperation in various fields including developing low-carbon technology to yield greater result.

Noting growing uncertainties in the global economic environment, a joint statement signed at the summit announced the establishment of a working group for a joint trilateral response and preemptive coordination on trade issues, in hopes that the business summit and the working group will serve as both catalyst and platform for cooperation.

The business summit is jointly sponsored by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Japan Business Federation, better known as Keidanren.

In his opening address, KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won called for concerted efforts and joint responses to the increasing common challenges facing the business communities in the three countries, as well as a gradual approach to cooperation built on the experience of smaller projects.

Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura in his address stressed the need to increase personnel exchanges to enable closer communication and better mutual understanding in the interests of promoting cooperation between the business communities.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Ren Hongbin, head of the CCPIT, urged the business communities to expand cooperation in the fields ranging from digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) to green energy and healthcare, increase investment, and build mutually beneficial industrial and supply chains with win-win results.

He, meanwhile, invited Japanese and South Korean businesses to participate in the second China International Supply Chain Expo scheduled to be held in November in Beijing.

The world's three major economies of China, Japan and South Korea launched their trilateral cooperation 25 years ago after the Asian financial crisis. The trilateral business summit was inaugurated in 2009 during the second leaders' meeting in Beijing.

On Monday, business community representatives from the three countries welcomed the return to cooperation under the trilateral framework. Choi Jun-ho, vice chairman of South Korea's fashion group Hyungji, which runs business in both China and Japan, said, "An economic ecosystem for the three countries would facilitate our business operation, in particular in terms of customs and taxation."

"Despite the disharmonious voices due to some political reasons, I believe that the three countries will be able to be united for cooperation to achieve greater growth," he said.

Meanwhile, Choi voiced his confidence in China's economic outlook, adding Hyungji, with school uniforms export business in Shanghai, will further invest in and focus efforts on expanding the Chinese market.