China, Japan, ROK should relaunch cooperation efforts: senior Chinese diplomat

QINGDAO-- Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said on Monday that China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) should relaunch their cooperation efforts.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the comments in a speech at the opening ceremony of International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2023, in Qingdao.

Wang said that over the past 20 years and more, China-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation has grown from scratch to the most influential sub-regional cooperation mechanism in Asia, providing an important driving force for the modernization of the three countries and Asia.

Wang stressed that, as they stand at a crossroads in history, China, Japan and the ROK should grasp the trend of the time, acquire wisdom from the past, and firmly maintain the right direction of trilateral cooperation.

"We should respect each other and live in harmony, adhere to openness and inclusiveness to achieve mutual success, adhere to independence, unity and self-improvement," said Wang.

Wang pointed out that peace, prosperity and revitalization in Asia require the joint efforts of the three parties.

He made a five-point proposal, including strengthening mutual trust, mutual benefit, connectivity, mutual assistance, and exchanges and mutual learning. He also called for collaborating to safeguard regional peace and stability, to create driving forces for economic growth, to advance regional economic integration, to meet common challenges and to foster public support.

Before the opening ceremony, Wang met with the major guests attending the forum and said that China, Japan and the ROK should learn from history, promote consensus between governments through the people, promote political relationships through economic ties, promote communication between the central governments through local exchanges, and promote bilateral cooperation through multilateralism.

China, Japan and the ROK should eliminate interference, work together, activate the trilateral cooperation and exchange mechanism, and restart trilateral cooperation, so as to jointly revitalize Asia and benefit the world, said Wang.