NE Asian Economies Seeking Closer CooperationHeads of local governments from China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia have called for closer economic cooperation in the northeast Asian region.The heads of 13 local governments from these countries agreed at a recent seminar on the topic that there is great potential for the complementary economies in the region against the backdrop of economic globalization. More than 100 people attended the seminar held in Qingdao, a coastal city in eastern China's Shandong Province. The participants held that the northeast Asian region boasts a land area of 25.18 million square kilometers and a population of 1. 5 billion. The size of its economy is only next to that of the North America economic community or the European Union. Major cities in the region such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul are important regional economic centers with international reputations. Countries in the region share similar cultural and historical backgrounds and have rich natural, human and capital resources. And the uneven distribution of these resources indicates a huge potential and bright future for closer trade and economic ties within the region, they said. The participants suggested that top priority be given to the expansion of the transportation network linking economies in the region as soon as possible. They urged cooperation in information technology, energy, manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism must also be strengthened for common development in this region. |
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