2016年CRI China, Japan, ROK join hands to tackle growth, protectionism（在线收听）

The 11th Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting between Japan, China and South Korea has seen the three sides agree to strengthen trade and economic cooperation between them.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng attended the meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Hiroshige Seko and Joo Hyung-hwan. 

Consensuses were reached at the meeting on implementing the economic and trade agreements approved at the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in Hangzhou; expanding new areas for cooperation; as well as regional and multilateral trade. 

Chinese minister Gao Hucheng stressed the unique role of the three countries in the world economic recovery that is at a difficult, yet crucial, stage.

"The momentum of global economic recovery is still weak. Economic globalization has encountered setbacks. Trade and investment are still at a low ebb while protectionism is picking up. At the G20 Summit in September, leaders of major economies reached important consensus on boosting growth, pushing forward the transformation of the Group of 20 and giving new momentum to global development. Asia plays a unique role in economic globalization. Accelerating economic integration in the region and the cooperation model between the regional economies have set a good example for other parts of the world."

The Chinese minister, in particular, called on the three sides to give full play to their industrial complementarity.

Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko highlighted the importance of cooperation between them in the face of uncertainties.

He also suggested the three play a role as thruster in global development. 

"Facing uncertainties that still remain in global economic development, cooperation is of great importance between Asia's three major economies. In the context of the Brexit, and rising protectionism in Europe and America, we three should keep vigilant against protectionism, continue to promote free trade and strive to become the thruster of the global economy through expanding trade and investment."

The meeting was held ahead of a China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit.

The three ministers said they would continue to implement the consensus reached in the G20 Hangzhou Summit. 

Japan and South Korea reacted positively to China's proposals for third-party international industrial capacity cooperation and fourth-party markets under the frameworks of the "Belt and Road" Initiative and "Eurasia Initiative". 

The three countries approved a joint research report on improving connectivity of their supply chains and agreed to expand the research to ASEAN countries. 

They also reiterated that they will speed up the negotiations on a trilateral Free Trade Agreement and a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 

The three countries also vowed to further strengthen a multilateral trade mechanism, enhance cooperation under the frameworks of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and actively push forward integration of regional economies.