Chinese premier urges China, Japan, S. Korea to reject external disruption

Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks at the eighth business summit among China, Japan and South Korea, in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. Li attended the business summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

SEOUL, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Monday that China, Japan and South Korea should strive to reject external disruption and stay committed to harmonious coexistence and mutual support.

Li made the remarks when attending the eighth business summit among China, Japan and South Korea together with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Chinese President Xi Jinping uses the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness to concisely summarize China's neighborhood diplomacy, Li said, adding that China, Japan and South Korea, geographically separated by a narrow strip of water, should be peaceful and friendly neighbors.

Li urged the three sides to draw lessons from history and look to the future, conform to the will of the people of the three countries to live and work in peace and contentment, strive to eliminate external interference, and always live in harmony and uphold solidarity.

The deep economic integration of China, Japan and South Korea determines that the three countries should be close neighbors for joint development, regard each other as close partners and important opportunities on the road to development, constantly explore the complementary advantages and cooperation growth points of the three economies to achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said.

Culturally connected, China, Japan and South Korea should be close neighbors that understand each other, he said, urging the three sides to make good use of cultural affinity to promote understanding, trust and close cooperation.

China stands ready to work hand in hand with South Korea and Japan to deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, continue to promote the convergence of interests, mutual affinity between the people and shared destiny, accelerate regional integration, and open up new prospects of peace, stability, development and prosperity, he said.

Li said that entrepreneurs play an important role in promoting China-Japan-South Korea exchanges and cooperation in economic and trade as well as other fields.

He expressed the hope that entrepreneurs will seize the trend of economic globalization, deepen industrial coordination, continuously improve the level of connectivity and the efficiency of factor allocation, make good use of the platform of the China International Supply Chain Expo, and be the defenders of stable industrial and supply chains.

It is hoped that entrepreneurs will seize the trend of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, strengthen joint research and development, collaborate on solving key problems, jointly push for technological advancement and improvement of industrial competitiveness, and be a driving force for deepening innovation and cooperation, Li noted.

He also called on entrepreneurs to seize the trend of integration and development of human civilizations, give full play to their role as a bridge, actively support people-to-people exchanges, and be a promoter of expanding cultural exchanges.

The leaders of South Korea and Japan said that the economic and trade cooperation between the three countries has achieved great results and strongly promoted the development of the global economy.

They said that the governments and business communities of the three countries should make concerted efforts to further deepen trilateral economic and trade cooperation, promote youth and other people-to-people exchanges, enhance regional investment cooperation, strengthen cooperation with the "Global South" countries through the South Korea-Japan-China+X mechanism, jointly deal with global issues such as climate change, and make positive contributions to promoting the economic development of the three countries and the world.

About 240 business and government representatives from the three countries attended the meeting.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks at the eighth business summit among China, Japan and South Korea, in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. Li attended the business summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)