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Summit will enhance regional cooperation

By Liu Junhong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-13 16:32

The China-Japan-South Korea Summit will be held in Fukuoka, Japan on Saturday. It will symbolize the official initiation of the strategic cooperation framework between the three countries and the upgrading of East Asia's regional strategic cooperation.

The 10+3 (ASEAN + Sino-Japan-South Korea) framework was formed at the ASEAN Summit in 1997. In 1999, within the 10+3 framework, the trilateral summit was initiated, and has played a positive role in promoting regional cooperation.

On China's part, after conclusion of negotiations for entry to the WTO in 2001, the country immediately started talks with ASEAN on constructing a Free Trade Area (FTA). Through the Early Harvest Plan of 2004, their bilateral relationship improved rapidly and has become the main force of promoting regional cooperation.

China also actively cultivated sub-regional cooperation. It took part in the development of the Mekong River basin, initiated the construction of the South-North Corridor to open a strategic transport channel between China and ASEAN, and established the "Pan-North Bay Development Zone".

On Japan's part, it initiated in 2006 its strategy of "setting up a factual East Asia Community to court ASEAN". However, due to the initiation of the "Around-Pacific Ocean FTA Concept" by the US, Japan's regional strategy was contained and it therefore anxiously wanted to promote a China-Japan-South Korea cooperation framework to extend regional cooperation on the ground.

On South Korea's part, the country focused its FTA strategic emphasis outside of the region and started negotiations with the US, Canada, EU, Mexico and India. Nevertheless, Seoul's strategy was resisted both internally and externally.

Since mid-2007, affected by the US financial crisis, the world market has shrunk and South Korea's trade deficit has been enlarged. Foreign capital has retreated to a great extent. There has been a drop in both the stock and foreign exchange markets. Hence, it is imperative for South Korea to return to this region and to carry out strategic cooperation with China and Japan.

China, Japan and South Korea are geographically close and economically dependent on each other. They are the key forces for regional cooperation and play an important part in the 10+3 framework. Their economic and trading might has increased rapidly. However, the three sides so far have yet to establish an independent cooperation framework, and this has resulted in an imbalance in East Asia's regional cooperation.

In particular, with the increase in challenges such as territorial disputes, history and national problems, environment pollution, shortage of resources, disasters and non-traditional security threats, China, Japan and South Korea can hardly jointly handle the complicated and volatile regional situation due to the lack of a systematic cooperation mechanism.

At present, the world's economy is faced with the risk of recession. To initiate the China-Japan-South Korea cooperation framework and jointly build an equal, cooperative, mutually beneficial and win-win mechanism at this time could help to overcome the shortcomings of East Asia's regional cooperation, reduce the impact of the financial crisis and promote the establishment of a just and reasonable world order.

It is important for the three countries to build a strategic cooperation frame to enhance regional strategic dialogue and policy co-ordination.

The author is a researcher with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations