JETRO Topics
1st Japan-China Third Country Market Cooperation Forum
October 2018
On October 26, JETRO jointly held the first Japan-China Third Country Market Cooperation Forum with the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministries of Economy, Trade and Industry and Foreign Affairs of Japan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The forum was joined by Premier Li Keqiang and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan from China and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Economic Minister Hiroshige Seko from Japan, as well as approximately 1,500 people including leaders from political and industrial circles of both countries. A total of 52 memorandums of cooperation were concluded on the occasion between both the public and private sectors in a wide range of fields, including infrastructure, logistics, IT, healthcare and finance.
The forum was held as the first initiative aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of "triple-win relations" between China, Japan and third countries by promoting business in third countries in Asia and around the world through public and private cooperation.
Scene of venue
In the plenary session in the morning, a greeting was delivered by Prime Minister Abe. He announced that the Japanese government will work together with that of China to facilitate projects which can also benefit third countries in line with international standards in terms of openness, transparency, economic efficiency and financial soundness, in response to massive demand and diverse challenges in the world.
Following that, Premier Li expressed high hopes for China and Japan to conduct cooperation in third countries by taking advantage of their mutually complementary strengths and implementing projects that will be beneficial for all parties.
JETRO Chairman and CEO Hiroyuki Ishige took the podium to deliver greetings with the chairmen of Keidanren and the Japan Foreign Trade Council (JFTC) on behalf of Japanese economic-related institutions.
In his remarks he announced that JETRO will play a contributing role in creating opportunities for Chinese and Japanese companies to facilitate business in third countries by taking full advantage of the organization’s three functions of "research," "dissemination of information" and "business matching." At the same time, he stressed the importance of developing a free and fair business environment and made a proposal for China to proactively participate in rule-making. (For further details, please see the link.)
JETRO concluded an MOU on cooperation in third country markets with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) during the forum. A field survey for a cooperative project has already been carried out based on the memorandam, with further activities planned, such as seminars and business matching events in third countries.
Speech by JETRO Chairman and CEO Ishige
In the afternoon, four workshops were held for the fields of 1) traffic and logistics, 2) energy and environment, 3) sophistication of industry and financial support and 4) regional development, which featured lively discussions by participants.
In the workshop for regional development, which was joined by business people from Thailand as well, great interest was seen in promoting projects related to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and the development of smart cities. In relation to this, JETRO will also hold the Japan-China-Thailand Cooperation Workshop in Bangkok early next year.
