Dr. Teh Kok Peng, Chairman of the East Asian Institute of NUS,
Mr. Alfred Schipke, Director of the East Asian Institute of NUS,
H.E. Hong Jin-wook, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Singapore,
H.E. Ishikawa Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore,
Distinguished experts and scholars,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to attend today's conference. As we speak, the international situation is intertwined with changes, chaos, and increasing uncertainty and instability. The international relations are also undergoing profound adjustments. Fragmentation is intensifying, conflicts and frictions are on the rise, and some international organizations are experiencing malfunction. At the same time, regional and cross-regional cooperation, and minilateral mechanisms have become more dynamic. With the meetings on East Asia cooperation to be held in Kuala Lumpur next month, we are obliged to answer a question: Where should East Asia cooperation head to? Today's conference organized by the EAI is therefore highly relevant.

Asia has long been a highland for development and a hotbed for cooperation. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong stated at the recently held “Asia Vision Forum” that Asia will continue to be a key pillar of global peace and prosperity, and the world may embrace an Asian century in the future. However, affected by factors such as geopolitics and policy orientations of various countries, Asia also faces many difficulties and underlying concerns, which require concerted and proactive response from Asian countries.

As important economies in Asia, China, Japan and the ROK are geographically close, culturally connected and economically complementary, long playing a unique and crucial role in regional cooperation. Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation. Next year will be the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat. 2027 will be the 30th anniversary of ASEAN Plus Three cooperation. At this crucial inflection point, the EAI has set the theme of this year's conference as “Managing a Rapidly Changing World: Perspectives from China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia”. I would therefore like to share some views from China's perspective.

The China-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation emerged from a crisis and has grown strong in the process of turning the crisis into opportunities. Up to now, it has formed a comprehensive cooperation system with leaders' meeting as its core, 21 ministerial-level meetings as the main body and over 70 dialogue mechanisms as the underpinning, gaining fruitful results in areas such as regional economic integration, supply chain stability and technological innovation. In 2024, the combined GDP, trade in goods and manufacturing output of the three countries accounted for 24 percent, 19 percent and 38.5 percent of the world's total. It can be said that China-Japan-ROK cooperation hinges on not only the development of the three countries but also prosperity of the region and beyond.

In addition to economic and trade cooperation, our three countries have also deepened cooperation in areas such as climate change, public health and cultural exchanges. The three countries have jointly responded to COVID-19 and carried out effective cooperation on vaccine research and development and medical supplies logistics. By actively promoting projects such as the Asian Campus, we have enhanced mutual understanding and friendship among our peoples. With 2025 and 2026 designated as the China-Japan-ROK Year of Cultural Exchange, I believe the three countries will further deepen cooperation in fields such as culture, education and tourism.

At the regional level, under the APT framework, China, Japan, the ROK and ASEAN have carried out practical cooperation in more than 20 domains including economy, trade, finance, food and agriculture. They have established over 60 dialogue and cooperation mechanisms and formed a mature cooperation system with leaders' meeting as its core and supported by ministerial meetings, senior officials' meetings, ambassador-level meetings (CPR+3) and working group meetings.

Currently the overall situation in the region is good, and development and cooperation is the focus and overarching trend. That said, challenges such as interference from powers outside the region, geopolitical conflicts, unresolved historical issues, competitive pressures brought by economic structural transformation, coupled with the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, and the abuse of tariffs by certain major countries, all pose new tasks for regional countries including China, Japan, the ROK and ASEAN. We must cherish the hard-won peace in the region. The more complex the situation becomes, the more we need to eliminate distractions, work together in solidarity, strengthen the impetus for cooperation, enhance the resilience of development, steadily advance the process of regional integration, uphold Asian values, and make our Asian home a better place. Specifically, I believe we can start from the following four aspects:

Firstly, deepen economic and trade cooperation to maintain regional vitality. Economic and trade cooperation is a crucial pillar of China-Japan-ROK cooperation. The three countries should make full use of the RCEP framework to further expand trade, promote two-way investment and strengthen the connectivity of industrial and supply chains. On this basis, we should accelerate the China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area negotiations to provide institutional guarantees for regional economic integration. In emerging fields, our three countries should seize the opportunities brought by the new round of technological revolution, deepen cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence and digital trade, and jointly drive digital transformation. We should also enhance coordination and collaboration under mechanisms such as the APT and the East Asia Summit, and carry out "China-Japan-ROK plus" cooperation with neighboring regions in order to drive common development in the region.

Secondly, strengthen energy cooperation to promote green transition. Climate change is a common challenge for all humanity. Faced with increasingly frequent natural disasters, the international community must take action before it is too late. China, Japan and the ROK can accelerate cooperation on carbon market and explore the establishment of a regional carbon trading mechanism to jointly promote the transformation of energy structure. In areas such as new energy technology research and development, green finance and the development of low-carbon cities, our three countries should also strengthen collaboration. We can work with regional countries including Singapore to build a low-carbon community and contribute to the achievement of global carbon neutrality goals.

Thirdly, promote people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual understanding among peoples. China, Japan and the ROK are close neighbors, and have a long history of people-to-people exchanges. Building an East Asia with close people-to-people bonds is an important direction of cooperation among us. We should further deepen cooperation in culture, education, tourism and other fields. In particular, we can work with ASEAN countries through projects such as the Asian Campus to enhance mutual understanding and friendship among the younger generation, building a more solid social foundation for the future development of regional cooperation.

Fourthly, safeguard regional peace and address challenges properly. Peace and stability are prerequisites for development. The three countries should proceed from the long-term interests of the region, abandon zero-sum mentality, properly handle unresolved historical issues and sensitive topics, and earnestly respect each others' core interests and major concerns. China recently put forward the Global Governance Initiative. We stand ready to to work together with Japan, the ROK and Southeast Asian countries to implement this initiative.

As an old Chinese saying goes, "A nearby neighbor is better than a distant relative." China, Japan, the ROK and ASEAN countries are neighbors and partners connected by waters and mountains. Currently, China's economy maintains steady progress, demonstrating strong resilience and huge development potential. Despite facing challenges from economic transformation and adjustment as well as changes in the external environment, the fundamentals sustaining China's long-term economic performance remain unchanged, and China's policy of pursuing high-quality development and high-level opening-up also remain the same. China is willing to inject new momentum and provide new opportunities for regional common development through its own stable development.

The ROK and China will be the hosts of the APEC Economic Leaders' Informal Meetings in 2025 and 2026. China looks forward to strengthening coordination with all parties to jointly advance open regionalism and create an East Asian Moment for APEC. I believe that as long as we uphold the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, deepen cooperation, and jointly address challenges, we will surely drive regional cooperation to new heights and make greater contribution to peace and prosperity in Asia and beyond.

Thank you!