China-Japan-ROK cooperation

IV.

Sustainable development

1. Circular economy

China-Japan-ROK circular economy model base is a priority project for trilateral cooperation in the area of sustainable development. China put forward the proposal for building the model base at the Second Trilateral Summit Meeting in 2009, and the Joint Statement on Sustainable Development issued at the summit pledged to explore the possibility of building model bases and make joint efforts to promote resource-conserving and environment-friendly industrial structure, growth pattern and consumption mode. The National Development and Reform Commission of China, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade and the ROK Ministry of Environment have established communication channels at the working level, and decided to choose a location for the model base in China.

2. Science and technology

Currently, trilateral cooperation in science and technology is mainly conducted through two mechanisms, the trilateral ministerial meeting and DG meeting on science and technology cooperation. The meetings are both held every two years in rotation among the three countries. The participants to the meetings include the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the ROK. As of February 2012, the three parties had held two ministerial meetings and five DG meetings. The Third Trilateral Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology was held in Shanghai in April 2012, and the Sixth Director-General's Meeting will be held in China in 2013.

During the Second Trilateral Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology in 2009, the three parties launched a joint research program to support joint studies by scientists of the three countries. The program is co-sponsored by the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). Up till now, the three parties have already jointly supported six programs in two phases, covering areas from sewage treatment, new materials and disaster prevention to climate change and energy-saving technologies. The three parties started soliciting projects for the third phase of the program in April 2012.

Also during the Second Trilateral Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology, the three parties launched a young scientists' exchange program, and agreed to hold a young scientists' seminar on a different theme every year in rotation among the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the ROK. The first young scientists' seminar was held in Jeju, the ROK, in May 2010, and the second seminar was held in Shanghai in April 2012.

In the Joint Statement on Strengthening Science and Innovation Cooperation and the Trilateral Cooperation VISION 2020 issued during the Third Trilateral Summit Meeting in May 2010, the three countries pledged to work hard in a concerted effort to raise the level of science and technology and innovation capacity in support of socio-economic development in the three countries, and jointly address regional and global issues. In order to advance trilateral cooperation on industrial technologies, upon the proposal of the ROK, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of the ROK co-hosted the First Industrial Technology Cooperation Forum among China, Japan and the ROK in November 2010. The second trilateral Industrial Technology Cooperation Forum was held in China in October 2011, during which the three countries exchanged views on a broad range of issues concerning renewable energy cooperation.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the ROK hosted the Korea-China-Japan Green Technology Forum in Jeju, the ROK, in 2010, which was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. Later, upon the proposal of the ROK, the first green technology forum co-hosted by the three parties was held in Tokyo in March 2012.

During the Fourth Trilateral Summit Meeting in May 2011, China put forward the proposal for the establishment of a trilateral Innovation Alliance on Renewable Energy among the industry, academia and research institutions to build on the strengths and resources of the three countries for common progress in the area of renewable energy. The Ministry of Science and Technology of China has already introduced the concrete proposal for the development of the innovation alliance to Japan and the ROK.

3. Environmental protection

Environmental protection is one of the first and most fruitful areas of trilateral cooperation. The Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting is an important platform for the three countries to carry out dialogue on environmental policies and promote regional sustainable development. Since the launch of the mechanism in 1999, 13 tripartite environment ministers meetings have been held in rotation among the three countries. A joint communique was issued at the end of each tripartite environment ministers meeting to capture the consensus reached by the three parties on important regional and global environmental issues.

The 11th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting held in June 2009 identified 10 priority areas for environmental protection, i.e. environmental education, environmental awareness and public participation; climate change (synergy effect, low-carbon society, green growth, etc.); biodiversity conservation; dust and sandstorm; pollution control (air, water and marine environment, etc.); environmentally-friendly / 3R / sound resource recycle society; transboundary movement of electronic waste; sound management of chemicals; environmental governance in Northeast Asia; and environmental industries and technologies. In May 2010, a joint action plan for tripartite cooperation in environmental protection was adopted at the 12th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting. The 10 priority areas and the joint action plan have provided important guidance for the three countries to carry out substantive cooperation.

Within the framework of the Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting, the environmental protection authorities of the three countries have conducted diverse and fruitful cooperation in the 10 priority areas, including the establishment of the mechanism for jointly combating illegal transboundary movement of electronic waste, trilateral seminar on environmental education, trilateral training program on environmental education, environmental protection textbook for children of the three countries, trilateral joint research program on dust and sandstorm, trilateral seminar on green economy, trilateral seminar on 3R, trilateral seminar on photochemical oxides, trilateral chemical policy dialogue, joint study on Northeast Asia environmental governance, trilateral roundtable of environment protection industries, etc. Through these channels, the three countries have made continued progress in carrying out practical environmental protection cooperation at both policy and technical levels.

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