BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Shaoxing and Dunhuang in China, Kitakyushu in Japan, and Sunchon in the Republic of Korea (ROK) have been designated by the three countries as the Culture Cities of East Asia 2021.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement on Monday that the three countries have agreed the four cities need to cooperate closely to promote the development and prosperity of East-Asian culture.

Since 2013, the three nations have carried out an annual selection, naming one or two cities from each country as the Culture Cities of East Asia to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation, the protection of intangible cultural heritage, the construction of a public cultural service system, and city planning.

Selected cities are generally unveiled at the China-Japan-ROK Cultural Ministers' Meeting. However, this year's meeting, the 12th of its kind, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the three countries have announced their decision in the form of a media release.