"The three countries should adhere to advocating mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, restart negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible, maintain the momentum of regional economic integration, improve multi-channel and multi-level regional free trade arrangements, and contribute to the common goal of advancing towards the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area." Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasized at the 10th China Japan South Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting recently held.

"China is willing to work with Japan and South Korea to promote the early resumption of negotiations and make positive contributions to the stable recovery of the regional and even global economy." Shu Jueting, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, stated at a recent routine press conference that China attaches great importance to the negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement. Currently, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has fully entered into force and implemented, creating positive conditions for the resumption of negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Against the backdrop of accelerated changes over the past century and slow global economic recovery, it is highly anticipated to restart negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible and maintain the momentum of regional economic integration.

Building a foundational framework for the implementation of RCEP

The negotiation process of the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement has lasted for many years. In November 2012, during the series of East Asian leaders' meetings held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the economic and trade ministers of China, Japan, and South Korea held a meeting and officially announced the launch of negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Area. In March 2013, the first round of negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Zone was held.

As of now, 16 rounds of negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Zone have been completed.

It is understood that previously, the three parties reached an important consensus on building a comprehensive, high-level, mutually beneficial, and self valuable China Japan South Korea free trade agreement, and unanimously agreed to further enhance the level and rule standards of goods trade, service trade, and investment liberalization on the basis of RCEP, and create a "RCEP+" free trade agreement.

The effective implementation of RCEP has created positive conditions for the resumption of negotiations on the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement. Zhang Jianping, a researcher at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, stated in an interview with the International Business Daily that China, Japan, and South Korea have a large economic scale and high technological level in East Asian countries, and have formed a very close cooperation and connection relationship in the global supply chain and East Asian production network, playing an important role. The effective implementation of RCEP has built a fundamental framework system for the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement. The 'RCEP+' Free Trade Agreement is beneficial for China, Japan and South Korea to strategically examine the leading role of the three countries in the East Asian Economic Circle and enhance their overall competitiveness in the new global market pattern. Therefore, the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement should make higher standards than RCEP and related institutional arrangements, strengthen regional cooperation, and explore trade within the region Investment potential. "

"China, Japan, and South Korea have a high degree of industrial correlation and strong economic complementarity. Once the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement is reached, it will further expand market openness, reduce trade barriers, enhance trade and investment, optimize the business environment, and bring tangible benefits to the three parties' enterprises and people on the basis of existing free trade cooperation." Shu Jueting said.

Resuming negotiations is worth looking forward to

Although the negotiation process of the China Japan South Korea Free Trade Agreement is slow, it is worth looking forward to the early resumption of negotiations.

China, Japan, and South Korea are all important global economies, located in the most dynamic East Asian region of the world economy, and are important trade and investment partners to each other. The combined gross domestic product of China, Japan, and South Korea accounts for about 25% of the world's total, and the trade volume between the three countries accounts for about 20% of the world's total. China, Japan, and South Korea have close economic and trade ties and active exchanges. The trade volume between China, South Korea, and Japan in the first 10 months of 2023 was 262.79 billion US dollars and 256418 billion US dollars, respectively. According to Chinese customs statistics, the trade volume between China, South Korea, and Japan in 2022 was approximately 362.3 billion US dollars and 357.4 billion US dollars, respectively. According to Japanese customs data, the bilateral trade volume of goods between Japan and South Korea in 2022 was 88.106 billion US dollars.

Zhang Jianping stated that whenever the global economy slows down or encounters an economic and financial crisis, the process of economic cooperation and regional economic integration between countries will be strengthened and promoted to a certain extent, which is particularly evident in the cooperation between East Asia and the Asia Pacific region over the past 20 years.

"In the current situation of slowing global economic growth, slowing trade growth, and intensifying geopolitical conflicts, for China, Japan, and South Korea, which are both open economies and play an important role in the international trade system, restarting free trade agreement negotiations is of practical significance for fully leveraging the complementarity of the three countries' economies, strengthening trade and investment cooperation, and achieving stable foreign trade and promoting growth." Zhang Jianping said.

Zhang Jianping believes that in order to promote the early resumption of negotiations, the three parties need to view the important significance and significant role of the free trade agreement with a strategic perspective, strive to overcome obstacles, jointly create a favorable environment for negotiations, promote common economic development, and work together to promote regional economic integration.

(International Business Daily reporter Li Ning)