China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas ranging from economy and trade to declining birth rates and climate change at the 11th China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
At the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, and ROK Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul jointly reviewed the progress made in trilateral cooperation since the Ninth China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit held in Seoul last May.
They mentioned that since the 2024 summit, the three countries have engaged in high-level dialogs on economy and trade, culture, and science and technology, advancing exchanges and cooperation in multiple areas.
They acknowledged that despite existing differences, the three nations should work to resolve conflicts through continued dialog, with a focus on future-oriented cooperation which they agreed is of great importance to the stability and prosperity of East Asia and even the entire world.
They highlighted that moving forward, the three nations should strengthen cooperation in various fields, including economy and trade, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges, particularly youth exchanges.
Regarding specific areas of cooperation, they underscored disaster prevention and mitigation and common challenges such as declining birth rates and aging populations, and climate change.
During a joint press conference following the high-profile meeting, the three foreign ministers noted that a consensus had been reached on fostering new growth drivers and creating new highlights of cooperation.
On holding the 10th China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit, the three sides emphasized that trilateral cooperation is crucial for the development and prosperity of each country.
They also agreed to maintain communication on advancing China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Area negotiations.
China and Japan also held their first high-level economic dialogue in six years on Saturday.
China, Japan, ROK agree to enhance cooperation at trilateral foreign ministers' meeting
China, Japan, ROK agree to enhance cooperation at trilateral foreign ministers' meeting
China, Japan, ROK agree to enhance cooperation at trilateral foreign ministers' meeting
The deepening integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation emerged as a key focus for potential cooperation among global business leaders at the China Development Forum 2025 held in Beijing on Sunday and Monday.
Speaking at the forum, Li Lecheng, Party secretary of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, highlighted China's steadfast implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy.
Currently, the number of foreign-invested enterprises established in China has surpassed 1.2 million, with foreign investments spanning 31 major categories and 548 subcategories within the country's manufacturing sector.
"Promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation is not a solo performance by China, but a chorus by the world. China has a complete industrial system, rich application scenarios, a super-large-scale market and a large number of talents, which provides a broad cooperation space for international industrial scientific and technological innovation," Li said.
Notably, beyond production, establishing research and development centers in China to collaborate with domestic enterprises on tackling key technical challenges has increasingly become a growing trend among foreign investors.
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca signed a landmark agreement on Friday to invest 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in Beijing over the next five years. Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will establish a global strategic research and development center in Beijing, its sixth worldwide and second in China after one in Shanghai. The new center, equipped with an advanced artificial intelligence and data science laboratory, will accelerate early-stage drug research and clinical development.
"The reason we want to invest in China is because of the explosion of innovation that is happening in the country. As we work with those companies, we invest, of course, but we also invest in bringing our own capabilities, our own skills. We are investing in the life science physical ecosystem in Beijing, for instance, where we are actually going to help smaller startup companies come up with new products, training people who will actually be able to create economic growth," said AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot.
The economic transformation led by innovation has also brought new opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises.
"We invest in high quality growth, we invest in innovating, and we invest in cooperating with our good Chinese partners. It's a journey that has just started right now, but it also is an area where we need to work close together," said Kim Fausing, president and CEO of Danfoss, a global market leader in heating and cooling.
China integrating innovation with industrial progress resonates with global business leaders
