General

According to the observation report of Huacheng's import and export data: "The officially effective RCEP has provided new important conditions for promoting economic and trade cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK. The first is to build a stable and safe China, Japan and the ROK supply chain network under the RCEP framework; the second is to promote China, Japan and the ROK industrial cooperation under the RCEP framework; the third is to promote China, Japan and the ROK free trade under the services under the RCEP framework; and the fourth is to promote China, Japan and the ROK various forms of local cooperation under the RCEP framework." Chi Fulin, President of China (Hainan) Reform and Development Research Institute, said at the 9th China Japan ROK Cooperation Dialogue recently held in the form of online and offline combination.

China Japan ROK cooperation is a must

Chi Fulin said in his opening speech that due to the serious impact of geopolitical changes and trade protectionism, the global supply chain has shifted from focusing on cost efficiency to paying more attention to security and stability, and the localization and regionalization of the supply chain have become increasingly prominent. China, Japan and the ROK have both large markets and large supplies. They have the responsibility and conditions to strengthen consensus, deepen cooperation and build an efficient, stable and safe supply chain network of China, Japan and the ROK.

"Seize the new opportunities brought by RCEP and strive to achieve a breakthrough in the negotiation of the China Japan ROK Free Trade Area. At present, promoting the negotiation of the China Japan ROK Free Trade Area is facing a more complex international situation, but it also has the favorable conditions brought about by the effective implementation of RCEP. The key is to grasp the general trend of changes in the global economic pattern, based on the RCEP region itself, and accelerate the breakthrough in the negotiation of the China Japan ROK Free Trade Area," Chi Fulin said.

Masahiro Toyoda, chairman and CEO of the Japan International Economic Exchange Consortium, pointed out that the world economy is at a crossroads and no country is unaffected. Overcoming these common challenges will make the future cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK more determined.

Kim Sing hwan, chairman of the Korea East Asia Consortium, believes that the official entry into force of RCEP has made a great contribution to the promotion of global trade. China, Japan and South Korea are all RCEP members, which is conducive to the negotiation of free trade agreements among the three countries. The three countries should seize this opportunity to further deepen cooperation, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

"China Japan ROK cooperation is not an option, but a must." Ou Boqian, Secretary General of the China Japan ROK Cooperation Secretariat, said that China Japan ROK cooperation ushered in many opportunities and favorable conditions, including the effective RCEP. RCEP included China, Japan and the ROK in the same free trade arrangement for the first time, bringing practical benefits to the enterprises and people of the three countries. In the first three quarters of this year, bilateral trade between China and the ROK, China Japan, Japan and the ROK increased by about 5% year on year; The trade growth between China, South Korea and Japan and RCEP member countries reached 19.3%, 17.9% and 10.5% respectively.

Hideiro Puda, an honorary professor of Waseda University in Japan, said that after the international financial crisis, the growth rate of global trade declined. One of the important reasons was that the function of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to promote trade liberalization and resolve trade disputes was affected, and the WTO problem needed to be resolved as soon as possible. Japan, China and South Korea benefit a lot from global trade and should play an important role in solving these problems faced by the WTO. The three countries can use the RCEP framework to promote the further development of the WTO. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Carbon reduction, smart pension and other key cooperation areas

Li Renshi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Korea Institute of Sustainable Economy and Society and President of the Future Korean Peninsula Population Institute, pointed out that China, Japan and the ROK should further deepen cooperation to prevent geo economic fragmentation and promote trade growth. To this end, there should be a clearer policy objective to eliminate trade restrictions.

Experts at the meeting also exchanged views on energy cooperation, low carbon economy, aging, etc.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, Cao Yuanzheng, chairman of BOC International Research Co., Ltd., pointed out that carbon reduction and low-carbon cooperation is the most important direction of East Asian economic cooperation. In the past few years, China has made very rapid progress in carbon reduction. The supply side is mainly energy electrification, and the demand side is mainly new energy vehicles. China's carbon reduction progress has exceeded the previous assumptions. China's carbon reduction action is not only a help to the global economic recovery, but also an effort to maintain world peace.

Tian Xueyuan, a member of the Academic Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that aging is an indispensable topic in the China Japan ROK cooperation dialogue: first, how to spend the peak of population aging; Second, how to deal with the challenges brought by aging. This requires multiple measures, including supporting the development of the elderly home service industry; The focus of investment will be shifted to the non explicit project of home-based elderly service; Establish a home-based elderly service fund.

Yin Zhongyi, consultant to the president of China (Hainan) Reform and Development Research Institute, pointed out that the trade and investment cooperation of China, Japan and South Korea smart elderly care products contains huge potential and broad cooperation space. He suggested: First, under the framework of RCEP, the three countries should give priority to reducing the tariff of smart elderly care products, and strive to take the lead in achieving zero tariff in a few years; Second, the three countries should negotiate and conclude free trade under the elderly goods as soon as possible; Third, take the lead in realizing the rules, regulatory management and standard docking of medical health and elderly care services in the three countries in Hainan Free Trade Port.

Yuri Yamashita, managing director of the Japanese Institute of Energy Economics, believes that energy security requires diversified energy sources. Northeast Asia needs to consider establishing a joint natural gas reserve system or mutual financing system. It is necessary to create new technologies that will help Asia cope with climate change through cooperation and competition.

Lin Jae kui, a senior researcher at the Korean Institute of Energy Economics, believes that China, Japan and the ROK have a lot of space in the field of carbon neutrality. The three countries can cooperate in four aspects: first, achieving stable power supply in the power grid requires cooperation among the three countries; Second, technological innovation and innovation can be jointly developed and utilized; Third, the three countries can cooperate to promote the further development of hydrogen energy; Fourth, the three countries can jointly study carbon dioxide landfill technology.

Kim Sangha, Chairman of the Carbon Neutral and Green Growth Committee in 2050, pointed out that carbon reduction and tackling climate change are very important areas of cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK. At the same time, manufacturing should not be abandoned in order to achieve carbon neutrality. Renewable energy is a specific area where long-term cooperation can be carried out, which is not far away.

Zhong Zhe, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, pointed out that the key directions of China Japan ROK economic cooperation are: first, cooperation in digital transformation; Second, cooperation in carbon neutrality, including investment in low-carbon technologies; Third, strengthen supply chain cooperation and pay more attention to the tenacity and flexibility of the supply chain, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation.

The Dialogue was hosted by the Japan International Economic Exchange Consortium, the China (Hainan) Reform and Development Institute, the China Public Diplomacy Association and the Korea East Asia Consortium. More than 50 experts and scholars from China, Japan and the ROK participated in the Forum.