Address by Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council
of the People's Republic of China
at the 5th China-Japan-ROK Business Summit

Seoul, 1 November 2015

Your Excellency President Park Geun-hye,
Your Excellency Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to attend the 5th China-Japan-ROK Business Summit and to meet with representatives from the business communities of our three countries. On behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to extend warm congratulations on the successful opening of this summit and pay high tribute to friends from all walks of life for your contribution to China-Japan-ROK cooperation.

President Park Geun-hye, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and I came to attend this summit right after the trilateral leaders' meeting. This fact shows that political and economic relations, while reinforcing each other, are the two wheels driving China-Japan-ROK cooperation.

President Park Geun-hye told me that at the banquet she will host tonight, Bibimbap will be served. I think our cooperation is just like a bowl of Bibimbap, whose ingredients add up to produce a taste of perfect harmony.

China, Japan and the ROK are neighbors separated by narrow strips of water. We enjoy geographical proximity, cultural affinity and strong economic complementarity. The China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting, which started in 1999, opened a new chapter in our trilateral cooperation. As complicated and fluid as the situation has been in Northeast Asia for the past 16 years, China-Japan-ROK cooperation in various areas has generally maintained a stable momentum of development, though not without some ups and downs. Reviewing the path of our cooperation, we can reach the following conclusions:

First, commitment to peaceful development constitutes the foundation of smooth China-Japan-ROK cooperation. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and also the 70th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-fascist War. History is a mirror through which we see the scars left by war and the value of peace. Our trilateral cooperation could only be solidly based if we face history squarely, be forward-looking, keep to the path of peaceful development and properly address history issues with credible actions. What we have seen in the last 16 years is that, in times of rising frictions and tensions, our cooperation would be hampered by difficulties; while in times of greater mutual trust and regional stability, our cooperation would be a plain sailing.

Second, China, Japan and the ROK are well placed to carry out win-win cooperation. Trade among the three countries has been growing at an average rate of 12% in the last 16 years. China is now the largest trading partner of both Japan and the ROK, Japan is China's second largest trading partner country and largest source country of foreign investment, and the ROK is China's third largest trading partner country and the third source country of foreign investment. With the continuous growth of the economy and the improvement of industrial structure in our three countries, we will enjoy stronger economic complementarity and greater space for future cooperation.

Third, China-Japan-ROK cooperation benefits not only our three countries but also the region and the wider world. Our three countries account for more than 2/3 of the Asian economy. We are the pillars supporting Asia's prosperity and major cornerstones underpinning global growth. Last year, we were responsible for 70% of Asia's growth and 36% of the world's growth. China-Japan-ROK cooperation is also an engine driving regional and sub-regional cooperation within Asia as well as economic growth of the world. Other regional cooperation arrangements, such as the "10+3" (cooperation between ASEAN and China, Japan and the ROK), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), economic cooperation in Northeast Asia and the FTAAP process, all need China-Japan-ROK cooperation as a booster.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have just had candid and substantive discussions with President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. We all agreed that given the sluggish recovery of the world economy, the slowdown of global trade and the headwinds facing the economy of China, Japan and the ROK, it is in the interest of our three countries to develop a future-oriented, comprehensive and cooperative partnership. This meeting is an opportunity for us to lift economic and social cooperation across the board. To this end, China proposes that joint efforts be made in the following five aspects:

First, to expand trade among the three countries. China, Japan and the ROK are among the top ten trading nations of the world, but trade between us only accounts for around 20% of our total foreign trade, which means we have not taken full advantage of our economic complementarity. We should open up our markets to each other, intensify logistics, customs and quality inspection cooperation, and create a free and convenient trading environment. China is ready to work with the ROK and Japan to speed up the negotiations on the trilateral free trade area (FTA) and strive to conclude a comprehensive, high-standard FTA agreement that would balance the interests of all three parties at an early date to boost regional trade. China is also keen to accelerate negotiations on the RCEP and conclude them at an early date.

Second, to tap the potential of investment cooperation. Three-way investment only stands at around 5% of our total outbound investment, which means that there is great potential yet to be tapped. The three sides should implement the trilateral investment agreement which became effective last year as a high priority to create a convenient, fair, transparent and law-based investment environment in the region. We should also encourage our local governments to establish economic partnerships. China will continue to deepen reform and opening-up in the next five years. Structural reform, which is a central plank of our reform agenda, focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation and will further stimulate market vitality and creativity. China is capable of keeping an annual growth rate of at least 6.5% to usher in a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. China, as always, welcomes ROK and Japanese enterprises to invest in China, especially in our central and western regions and in high-tech fields. At the same time, we encourage Chinese enterprises to make investments in the ROK and Japan. The production capacity cooperation we advocate will help to combine ROK and Japanese technological and R&D strengths with the experience, capacity and human resources of China's manufacturing sector, thus providing "effective supply" at a competitive cost. This will better meet the demands of developing nations and emerging markets for infrastructure and equipment and be a win for all involved.

Third, to expand cooperation in green development. Tackling climate change and conducting cooperation on green development is an emerging strategic industry that will improve our people's quality of life. China is devoted to green development and conscious of the enormous business opportunities in the energy conservation and environmental protection sectors. China would like to explore with the ROK and Japan ways to set up a high-level trilateral consultation mechanism, share energy policies and promote industrial cooperation in new energy. We also wish to intensify cooperation regarding environment issues, jointly set up cooperation networks for the prevention and control of air, water and soil pollution to build up regional capacity in this area. I hope we can pitch in to ensure the success of the Caofeidian Industrial Park in Heibei Province and the Dalian Recycling Industry Economic Zone, which can serve as an example of our cooperation in green development.

Fourth, to foster effective cooperation in innovation. Innovation is of crucial importance to our economic growth and industrial competitiveness. In a world of rapid development of the Internet, we enjoy greater potential, more choices and higher efficiency in our innovation cooperation. China is implementing the strategy of innovation-driven development and encouraging mass entrepreneurship and innovation, the ROK is promoting a "Creative Economy", and Japan has produced a strategy of "developing a nation via science and technology". The three countries therefore have a lot to explore in such areas as robots, bio-technology, medical care, mobile internet, big data and e-commerce. It is important that we continue to make full use of the meetings of science ministers and of information ministers to promote joint research, technical cooperation, resource sharing, information sharing and personnel exchanges, and support the young scientists project. China and the ROK have just decided to set up an innovation and entrepreneurship park in China's central and western region. This will provide a new platform for our innovation cooperation and new impetus to the innovative development of our economies.

Fifth, to improve people-to-people and cultural engagement. Our three countries enjoy a long history of people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Such ties not only enhance mutual understanding and friendship, but also boost economic cooperation. Every week there are more than 1,000 flights travelling between China and the ROK, and more than 600 flights between China and Japan. More than 20 million people moved among the three countries last year. Just now, the leaders of the three countries set a new target, which is to strive for 30 million of travels among the three countries by 2020. We should also deepen cooperation in education, science and technology, culture and health care and among think-tanks, media and local governments. We wish to congratulate China's Ningbo, Japan's Nara and ROK's Jeju on being designated as the "Cultural Cities of East Asia", and will support cultural exchanges among them in various forms. We will continue to organize events such as the "Youth Friendship Meeting" and the "Trilateral Youth Summit" to carry forward and renew friendship among our peoples. Our three countries will host the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 and the Beijing/ Zhangjiakou Winter Olympics in 2022. I hope our business communities will seize this opportunity and capitalize on the economic opportunities created by the Olympic Games.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If we compare China-Japan-ROK economic cooperation to a giant ship,then business leaders are the sailors on board. How fast this ship can sail and how far it can go depend on the commitment and resourcefulness of our business leaders. During the voyage, the ship has to navigate shoals,undercurrents and frictions, but this is to be expected. It is the job of the governments of our three countries to drive our cooperation in the right political direction, steer clear of disturbance and obstacles, and keep the ship of trilateral cooperation in the right lane. I hope companies from the three countries, both large and small, will seize the opportunities. With all hands on deck, this giant ship of trilateral cooperation will ride the waves and enjoy a smooth and steady journey.