The leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan released a joint statement addressing cooperation in a number of areas, including trade, climate change, and aging societies, on Monday.
The statement was reached following the first three-way summit in almost four years between Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The declaration focused on the following points:
The three nations will endeavor to ensure that citizens in the three nations “can enjoy substantive benefits emanating from this cooperation” and will make every effort to hold the trilateral summit and ministerial meetings on regularly. The next summit will be held in Japan.
By 2030, they hope to increase the number of person-to-person exchanges to 40 million via cultural, educational, and tourism exchanges.
The three realized that in order to achieve carbon neutrality and net zero greenhouse gas emissions, they would need to collaborate. They promised to act decisively and to assist in the endeavor to meet the temperature target set forth in the Paris Agreement.
They decided to work together to lessen sandstorms and dust in East Asia. Along with stopping illicit fishing, they will also aim to finalize an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution and promote marine conservation.
The nations decided to support talks aimed at advancing the trilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. They reiterated their support for the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the center of an open, rules-based international trade system.
They reiterated their shared commitment to preserving harmony, stability, and prosperity throughout Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula. Regarding the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the kidnapping issue, the nations restated their positions.
