On October 26, Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan met with the visiting Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko in Beijing. The two parties exchanged views deeply on the issues including China-Japan economic and trade relations, the third party market cooperation, innovation cooperation, opposing unilateralism and trade protectionism, regional and multilateral cooperation.
Zhong Shan said this year is the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, and President Xi Jinping announced a series of new important measures for expanding opening up, which fully showed China’s determination of expanding opening up, positively promoting economic globalization, and providing new cooperation opportunities to the countries worldwide including Japan. At the same time, this year is also the 40th anniversary of the Signing of China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty. The leaders of the two countries visited each other, and China-Japan relation is at an important point that links the past and the future. Economic and trade cooperation is the ballast and propeller of China-Japan relation, and is also the important basis of political mutual trust. The two parties should implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries in the economic and trade section, expand reciprocal and practical cooperation, so as to promote the China-Japan economic relation to a higher level and better quality.
Zhong Shan put forward several suggestions on deepening China-Japan economic and trade cooperation. Firstly, taking the Forum on China-Japan Third Party Market Cooperation as the platform, cultivate and implement more cooperation projects, and jointly promote the third party market cooperation towards the direction of high standard, high quality and sustainability; secondly, taking the signing of Memorandum of Understanding on Building Innovation Cooperation Mechanism as the opportunity, strengthen the practical cooperation in the innovation sections of the two countries, and welcome Japanese enterprises to expand investment in China, joint research and development, and innovation cooperation; thirdly, welcome delegations from Japanese political and business circles to actively participate in China International import Expo, and we expect Japanese featured commodities and services to enter Chinese market; fourthly, strengthen communications and consultations, jointly oppose unilateralism, trade protectionism, support necessary reform of the WTO, and safeguard multilateral trading system jointly; fifthly, keep the progress of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and with a flexible and practical attitude, jointly promote the realization of the goal of concluding the negotiation substantially within this year.
Hiroshige Seko expressed his gratitude for China’s successfully hosting the first China-Japan Third Party Market Cooperation Forum. He hoped that the two sides could take this as the opportunity to jointly promote specific projects to gain positive progress. He is willing to conduct cooperation in new sections with China, create communication and matchmaking opportunities for the enterprises of the two countries, strengthen intellectual property protection, further optimize business environment, and hold the first meeting for innovation cooperation mechanism as soon as possible. WTO reform should promote the formation of a free and fair trade mechanism that conforms to international rules. He hoped the two sides could jointly promote the essential conclusion of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership within the year.
