Countries in Northeast Asia should ride on the positive climate and enhance regional cooperation, a leadership forum on the region heard on Friday.
"There are many favorable factors for regional development among Northeast Asian countries, thanks to increasing bilateral relations between China, Japan and South Korea," said Zheng Xianwu, professor of the School of International Studies with Nanjing University.
Zheng was speaking at the ongoing Future Leaders Forum 2008: China-Japan-South Korea in Nantong, Jiangsu province.
Organized by the All-China Youth Federation, the Japan Foundation and the South Korean Foundation, the forum, which ends on July 20, focuses on the regional cooperation of Northeast Asian countries in areas including the economy, politics and environmental protection.
"The improving political situation has laid a sound framework for enhanced cooperation between China and Japan," Zheng said.
He pointed to latest developments, including the launch of the first China-Japan high-level economic dialogue in December last year, and the joint communiqu between China and Japan signed in May when President Hu Jintao visited the island nation.
High points in bilateral trade have also been reached for China and South Korea.
China became South Korea's largest trading partner with trade volume reaching $155.9 billion last year, figures from the General Administration of Customs showed. China's exports to the country surged 29.9 percent to reach $61.2 billion.
Similarly, figures from the Ministry of Commerce showed China's trade with Japan reached a record high of $236.6 billion yuan ($34.6 billion) last year, up 12 percent from the previous year.
The increasing influence of non-governmental factors has also contributed to regional cooperation, Zheng said.
Many have viewed these factors as being conducive for the upcoming summit for leaders of the three countries in September in Tokyo.
The enhancement of mutual trust among them will also play a vital role in driving regional cooperation, Zheng said.
"Trust should be built on the basis of mutual understanding," said Keisuke Suzuki, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party.
"Though obstacles remain, I am very optimistic about the joint efforts of both governmental and nongovernmental circles. The three countries should try to put historical issues aside to work on regional cooperation," said Koo Min-gyo, associate professor of the department of Public Administration of Yonsei University.
Zhou Fangyin, a researcher with the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on Saturday that such regional cooperation was inevitable in the context of globalization.
"Enhanced cultural exchange could also be another catalyst for regional cooperation," he said.
Source: China Daily
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