III. Economy, trade and finance cooperation

1. Trade and investment

China-Japan-ROK economic cooperation and trade have gained remarkable achievements. Trilateral trade increased by more than four times from US$130 billion in 1999 to US$690 billion in 2011. China has topped the trading partners' list of Japan and the ROK for many years, while Japan and the ROK rank the fourth and sixth place among China's trading partners respectively. Japan and the ROK have become important sources of foreign investment for China. By the end of 2011, direct investment from Japan and the ROK to China had amounted to US$80 billion and US$50 billion respectively.

Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting provides an important platform for advancing economic cooperation and trade among the three countries. The First Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting was held in Brunei in September 2002. The meeting, in principle, takes place every year. Since May 2010, the Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting has been held in rotation among the three countries. Eight Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meetings have been held to date. China will host the ninth meeting in May this year.

At the end of 2002, upon the Chinese proposal, the leaders of the three countries agreed to start the feasibility study on a China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area. From 2003 to 2009, research institutions of the three countries conducted a comprehensive study on the impact of the free trade area on their respective industries and came up with a common policy proposal. The study showed that the establishment of a trilateral free trade area could remove trade barriers, expand intra-regional market, facilitate trilateral economic integration and promote mutual benefit among the three countries. In October 2009, a consensus was reached at the Trilateral Summit Meeting to launch as early as possible a joint study on China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area among government officials, business and academic communities. In May 2010, the joint study on China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area was officially launched. Through the concerted efforts of the three countries, the joint study group completed its work in December 2011, and issued a joint statement. The three countries are now consulting with each other for the early launch of negotiations for the free trade area.

In accordance with the Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Tripartite Cooperation (2003), the relevant government departments of the three countries conducted several rounds of studies and consultations for the conclusion of the Trilateral Investment Agreement starting from 2004, and launched negotiations for the investment agreement in 2007. The three countries have already conducted 13 rounds of negotiations, and reached consensus on the text of the investment agreement, which is expected to be officially signed soon.

The Yellow Sea Rim Economic and Technological Conference was officially launched in 2001. It is the only sub-regional cooperation mechanism involving the government, economic groups, companies, universities and research institutions of the three countries with the aim of developing proposals for cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology among relevant regions of the three countries. The conference is held annually in rotation among the three countries. The 12th conference will be held in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China in September this year.

China-Japan-ROK Engineering Business Roundtable, which is attended by industrial organizations and enterprises on engineering contracting, aims to enhance trilateral exchanges and cooperation in engineering contracting and related fields. The first roundtable meeting was held in Tokyo in October 2011, and adopted a joint statement. The second roundtable meeting will be held in the latter half of 2012.

China-Japan-ROK Business Summit, which is co-sponsored by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Nippon Keidanren and the Federation of Korean Industries, has been held in conjunction with the Trilateral Summit Meeting since 2009. At the end of each business summit held so far, a joint declaration was issued to offer the views and policy recommendations of the business community for the leaders of the three countries on the future development of trilateral cooperation. As a side event of the Trilateral Summit Meeting, the business summit aims to create a good atmosphere for the leaders' meeting and build a platform for dialogue and exchanges among the business communities of the three countries as well as between the business community and the government.

2. Finance

China, Japan and the ROK have maintained close financial cooperation. After several years of development, trilateral financial cooperation has gradually established itself as a key driver for regional financial cooperation in East Asia. The trilateral dialogue and cooperation on finance is centered around the finance ministers' meeting, and complemented by a number of supportive platforms, including finance ministry and central bank deputies' meetings, DG meetings, working-level meetings and seminars. The finance ministers of the three countries meet regularly every year (normally in conjunction with the 10+3 Finance Ministers' Meeting) to coordinate positions on specific initiatives for 10+3 financial cooperation and discuss financial issues of shared interest to the three countries. Finance ministry and central bank deputies, international department DGs and working-level officers of the three countries also meet on an ad hoc basis to discuss economic situation and regional financial cooperation, and make preparations for the annual finance ministers' meeting. Thanks to the commitment of the three countries, East Asian financial cooperation is making substantive headway with important progress in regional crisis support and prevention mechanism, Asian bond market and other areas. From 2012 onward, the Trilateral Finance Ministers' Meeting will be replaced by the Trilateral Finance Ministers and Central Bankers' Meeting.

Since 2011, in the face of the grave challenges to world economic recovery, the finance ministries of China, Japan and the ROK have further deepened coordination and collaboration. The three countries have coordinated positions within the framework of trilateral financial cooperation, mainly in the following areas: first, while improving the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) regional crisis support mechanism, encourage CMIM to pick up the function of crisis prevention; second, further promote the development of the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI); third, facilitate the studies of future priorities for 10+3 financial cooperation. Progress has already been made in relevant studies.

Since 1996, the central bank governors of the three countries have met every year during their presence at international conferences. In December 2008, the central banks of the three countries issued a joint statement on the launch of annual Trilateral Central Bankers' Meeting, and three trilateral meetings have been held so far. The trilateral meetings have provided opportunities for the central bankers of the three countries to exchange views on their respective macroeconomic and financial situations, international and regional financial cooperation and other issues of common interest.

In addition, China, Japan and the ROK have maintained communication and cooperation in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and other international organizations as well as regional frameworks like the Executives' Meeting of East Asia and Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP).

3. Transport and logistics

Transport

At the First China-Japan-Korea Ministerial Conference on Maritime Transport and Logistics held in Seoul in September 2006, the three countries signed a joint statement, in which they decided to establish the mechanism of China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Maritime Transport and Logistics, and hold the meetings in rotation among the three countries every two years. The Ministerial Conference also adopted 12 concrete action plans, including sharing information, removing physical barriers, conducting joint technical studies and enhancing port cooperation, and each country took up four action plans.

The Second China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Maritime Transport and Logistics held in Okayama, Japan in May 2008 adopted an action plan for future work, and identified three major goals for trilateral cooperation in transport and logistics: creating a seamless logistics system, developing environment-friendly logistics, and achieving a balance between logistics security and efficiency . A decision was made at the second ministerial conference to expand the areas of cooperation into aviation logistics and change the name of the mechanism into China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Transport and Logistics starting from the third conference.

At the Third China-Japan-ROK Ministerial Conference on Transport and Logistics held in Chengdu, China in May 2010, a joint statement was signed, which put forward the initiative of building a Northeast Asia logistics information service network. The Service network, NEAL-NET, was officially launched during the China-Japan-ROK Transport and Logistics Development Forum in December 2010. The organization of NEAL-NET includes the steering committee, council and secretariat. The NEAL-NET secretariat is located in Hangzhou, China. The interface for logistics information sharing among the three countries is now fully functional. The pilot ports of the three countries, i.e., the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port of China, the Tokyo-Yokohama Port of Japan and the Busan Port of the ROK, are to share dynamic container vessel status information.

The Fourth Ministerial Conference will be held in Busan, the ROK in July 2012.

4. Information and communications

Information and communications is one of the priority areas for trilateral cooperation. In September 2002, the information and communications ministers of the three countries held their first formal meeting and issued a joint statement, in which they announced the launch of the ICT Ministers' Meeting mechanism. Five meetings have been held so far. The Fifth China-Japan-ROK ICT Ministers' Meeting in January 2011 confirmed that the three countries will strengthen policy exchanges and conduct exchanges and cooperation in the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, internet security, new-generation mobile communications and other areas. Within the framework of the Trilateral ICT Ministers' Meeting, the three countries have maintained sound exchanges and cooperation in such areas as third-generation and next-generation mobile communications, next-generation internet and RFID/sensor network, internet and information security, open-source software, telecommunications service policies and communications services for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

5. Customs cooperation

The Tripartite Customs Heads' Meeting, which was officially launched in 2007, has provided an important platform for the customs authorities of the three countries to strengthen coordination and cooperation in regional affairs. The customs heads of the three countries have already met four times so far. At the Fourth Customs Heads' Meeting held in November 2011, the revised Action Plan of the Tripartite Customs Cooperation was adopted, which mapped out trilateral customs cooperation for the future. The Trilateral Customs Heads' Meeting is supported by four working groups, i.e., working groups for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, customs enforcement and intelligence, authorized economic operator (AEO) and customs procedures. The customs authorities of the three countries have carried out close and effective cooperation in the above areas as well as in human resources development.

In the area of IPR protection, the Customs Authorities of the three countries have adopted the IPR Action Plan (fake-zero project), and made progress in general and case information exchange, legislation and law enforcement practice sharing, public awareness campaign and cooperation with IPR holders. In the area of law enforcement cooperation, the three countries have concluded the Action Plan on Intelligence Exchange and Law Enforcement Cooperation, and improved the dissemination and utilization of intelligence and information for combating commercial fraud and drug trafficking in keeping with the provisions of the action plan, provided mutual support in case investigation, and carried out effective joint campaigns against transnational smuggling activities. The three countries will continue their consultations with a view to improving the efficiency and quality of intelligence and information exchange. In the area of AEO mutual recognition, the three countries have taken effective steps to advance cooperation in AEO mutual recognition. The customs authorities of China and the ROK have signed the Action Plan for AEO Mutual Recognition, which is expected to lead to the formation of the arrangement for AEO mutual recognition between China and the ROK in 2013. The customs authorities of China and Japan have also drafted the roadmap for AEO mutual recognition and are now in the process of comparing their respective AEO regimes. In the area of customs procedure harmonization, the three countries have adopted the Work Plan for the Improvement of Customs Procedures, and identified the priorities and goals of the customs procedure working group. In the area of human resources development, the General Administration of Customs of China has signed the Memorandums of Cooperation in Human Resource Development respectively with its counterparts in Japan and the ROK, laying a solid foundation for furthering their cooperation.

The customs authorities of the three countries have conducted in-depth exchange of views on regional trade security and facilitation, IPR protection, law-enforcement cooperation and human resources development within the Customs Heads' Meeting framework. This has not only contributed to the healthy growth of their own economies and regional economy, but also set a good example for customs cooperation in other parts of the world.

6. Intellectual property rights

In September 2001, the State Intellectual Protection Office of China (SIPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Korean Industrial Property Office (KIPO) held the First Intellectual Property Rights Commissioners' Meeting in Tokyo, and launched the mechanism of Trilateral Policy Dialogue among SIPO, JPO and KIPO. In 2007, the roadmap for cooperation among the three agencies was adopted during the seventh IPR Commissioners' Meeting, which set out the medium and long-term goals for trilateral cooperation. In 2011, the roadmap for cooperation was updated at the 11th IPR Commissioners' Meeting, and the three agencies signed a joint statement on enhancing IPR cooperation, which marked the beginning of a new stage for trilateral IPR cooperation.

Since the establishment of the IPR Commissioners' Meeting mechanism, the intellectual property agencies of the three countries have carried out effective and practical cooperation in automation development, comparative patent review studies, professional training and institutional building, which have greatly boosted their respective IPR endeavors. In the meantime, the three agencies have also explored ways for furthering cooperation with ASEAN, exchanged views on other international IPR hotspot or focal issues, and made positive contribution to IPR cooperation in Asia and beyond.

7. Standards and metrology

The Northeast Asia Standards Cooperation Conference is a trilateral cooperation mechanism in the area of standards, launched upon the proposal of the Korean Standards Association. Starting from 2002, the annual conference has been hosted by China, Japan and the ROK on a rotating basis, and ten conferences had been held as of the end of 2011. In 2003 and 2008, the three countries also started holding concurrent China-Japan, China-ROK and Japan-ROK bilateral meetings respectively. The conference started as a non-governmental initiative with the government playing a supporting role. Through the platform provided by the conference, the three countries have improved the working mechanism of their cooperation in the area of standards. Currently, trilateral standards cooperation has completed the transition from a non-governmental initiative into a government-led program with public participation, which has enabled the three countries to participate in international and regional standards activities in a more substantive and effective way.

In order to implement the Joint Statement on Standards Cooperation issued during the Trilateral Summit Meeting in the ROK in May 2010, the standards regulatory authorities of the three countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing A Partnership Framework on Standards Cooperation in Japan in December 2010, and reached agreement on setting up a standing committee for trilateral standards cooperation to further improve the planning and coordination of cooperation. The 11th Northeast Asia Standards Cooperation Forum & 2012 CJK Standing Committee Meeting on Standards Cooperation was held in Chengdu, China in April 2012.

Since 2003, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China (AQSIQ) has strengthened cooperation and exchanges in metrology with its counterparts in Japan and the ROK on the basis of the China-Japan memorandum of understanding (MOU) on metrology cooperation and the China-ROK protocol for metrology cooperation. Trilateral seminars on metrology are held in the ROK, Japan and China on an annual basis.

The national metrology institutes of China, Japan and the ROK jointly initiated the Asian Collaboration on Certified Reference Materials (ACRM) program for the purpose of conducting joint studies and development of CRMs with reliable and traceable chemical measurement by combining each other's strengths and technology resources, and providing technological support for regional economic and scientific development. In August 2005, the three parties signed an MOU on Asian CRM collaboration. In October 2010, the MOU was signed for a second time. In May 2005, the three parties jointly published a metrology nomenclature of China, Japan and the ROK.