At the 9th Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit, held for the first time in approximately four and a half years, the three countries reaffirmed the significance of the trilateral cooperation in the present day. Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio explained Japan’s views on initiatives in three areas: people-to-people exchanges, sustainable society, and cooperation with ASEAN.
From left: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) YOON Suk Yeol, and Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang join hands at the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit.
In May 2024, the 9th Japan-China-ROK Summit was held in Seoul in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Prime Minister of Japan KISHIDA Fumio, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang, and President of the Republic of Korea YOON Suk Yeol commemorated the 25th anniversary of the trilateral cooperation and welcomed the trilateral process being revitalized. Furthermore, the three leaders concurred on promoting future-oriented practical cooperation that has been developed in various areas, and on continuing their cooperation under Japan’s Chair.
At the summit, Prime Minister Kishida stated that Japan, China and the ROK should put their heads together to lead the world to cooperation rather than division and confrontation by expanding the trilateral cooperation. Furthermore, he explained Japan’s view on initiatives in three areas: people-to-people exchanges, sustainable society, and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Prime Minister Kishida delivering an address at the Japan-China-ROK Business Summit, held in conjunction with the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit.
Regarding people-to-people exchanges, Prime Minister Kishida said at the summit, “Multi-layered people-to-people exchanges, centered on youth and forging the future of the three countries is the foundation, which nurtures mutual understanding and trust toward the future.” He described this point as one of the key pillars in his address delivered at the Japan-China-ROK Business Summit. The Joint Declaration issued after the summit stated that the three countries would strive to increase the number of people-to-people exchanges to 40 million by the year 2030 through promoting exchange including culture, tourism, and education. Additionally, a new goal was announced for CAMPUS Asia, an inter-university exchange program initiated in 2011, which has expanded to encompass universities in ASEAN member states. The three countries will actively support this project with the goal of having 30,000 students by the end of 2030. Prime Minister Kishida also expressed that Japan supported the ROK’s proposal to designate 2025-2026 as the “Year of Cultural Exchange” among the three countries and pledged to enrich the Year of Cultural Exchange under Japan’s Chair.
Prime Minister Kishida delivering an address at the Japan-China-ROK Business Summit, held in conjunction with the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit.
The Prime Minister further stated that it is beneficial for the international society to exhibit the model of sustainable society from East Asia by addressing common challenges in society and economics as well as global challenges. This includes advancing cooperation based on the Joint Statement on measures for pandemics as well as knowledge sharing on low birthrate and aging society among the three countries as the ones facing new challenges ahead of others.
Concerning cooperation with ASEAN, Prime Minister Kishida emphasized that it is more and more important for the three countries to cooperate in mainstreaming the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific” in order to bring about stability and prosperity in the region. Under the framework of ASEAN plus three, he stated that Japan will cooperate with the ROK and China to further materialize the practical cooperation such as enhancing regional financial cooperation including establishing the rapid financing facility to address urgent balance of payment needs, arising including from natural disasters and other exogenous shocks, supporting startups for promoting sustainable development, and utilizing the perspective of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in the areas including disaster risk reduction.
Additionally, Prime Minister Kishida underscored that protecting human dignity and maintaining and enhancing a free and open international order based on the rule of law are essential to ensure peace and prosperity in the region as well as the international society through leading the world to cooperation. Furthermore, he explained Japan’s position on the situation in North Korea, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and regional and international economic cooperation.
After the meeting, the Joint Declaration for the 9th Summit and its attachments (the Joint Statement on a 10 Year Vision for Trilateral IP Cooperation and the Joint Statement on Future Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response) were released. Japan, as chair of the next summit, will continue to further promote the trilateral relationship among the three countries.
Prime Minister Kishida (center) at the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting.
