III. Economy, trade and finance cooperation
三、经贸财金领域
1. Trade and investment
（一）贸易投资
China-Japan-ROK economic cooperation and trade have gained remarkable achievements. Trilateral trade increased by more than four times from US$130 billion in 1999 to US$690 billion in 2011. China has topped the trading partners’ list of Japan and the ROK for many years, while Japan and the ROK rank the fourth and sixth place among China’s trading partners respectively. Japan and the ROK have become important sources of foreign investment for China. By the end of 2011, direct investment from Japan and the ROK to China had amounted to US$80 billion and US$50 billion respectively.
中日韩三国经贸合作成效显著。三国间贸易额从1999年的1300多亿美元增至2011年的6900多亿美元，增长超过4倍，中国已连续多年成为日本、韩国最大贸易伙伴，日本、韩国在中国贸易伙伴中分别位居第四位和第六位。日本、韩国已成为中国重要的外资来源地。截至2011年底，日本、韩国累计对华直接投资分别接近800亿和500亿美元。
Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting provides an important platform for advancing economic cooperation and trade among the three countries. The First Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Brunei in September 2002. The meeting, in principle, takes place every year. Since May 2010, the Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting has been held in rotation among the three countries. Eight Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meetings have been held to date. China will host the ninth meeting in May this year.
中日韩经济贸易部长会议是促进三国经贸合作的重要平台。2002年9月，首次中日韩经济贸易部长会议在文莱举行，此后原则上每年举行。2010年5月起，三国经贸部长会议开始在三国轮流举办。目前已举行8次。今年5月，第九次会议将在中国举行。
At the end of 2002, upon the Chinese proposal, the leaders of the three countries agreed to start the feasibility study on a China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area. From 2003 to 2009, research institutions of the three countries conducted a comprehensive study on the impact of the free trade area on their respective industries and came up with a common policy proposal. The study showed that the establishment of a trilateral free trade area could remove trade barriers, expand intra-regional market, facilitate trilateral economic integration and promote mutual benefit among the three countries. In October 2009, a consensus was reached at the Trilateral Summit Meeting to launch as early as possible a joint study on China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area among government officials, business and academic communities. In May 2010, the joint study on China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area was officially launched. Through the concerted efforts of the three countries, the joint study group completed its work in December 2011, and issued a joint statement. The three countries are now consulting with each other for the early launch of negotiations for the free trade area.
2002年底，在中方倡议下，中日韩三国领导人同意就建立中日韩自由贸易区开展可行性研究。2003年至2009年，三国研究机构对自贸区给三国产业带来的影响进行了综合研究，并形成了共同政策建议。研究结果表明，建立中日韩自贸区可消除贸易壁垒，扩大区域内市场，推动三国经济融合，实现三国互利共赢。2009年10月，中日韩领导人会议就尽快启动由政府、产业、学界共同参加的中日韩自贸区联合研究达成共识。2010年5月，中日韩自贸区官产学联合研究正式启动，经过三方共同努力，2011年12月研究完成，并发表了联合声明。目前三方正在积极协商尽快启动中日韩自贸区谈判。
In accordance with the Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Tripartite Cooperation (2003), the relevant government departments of the three countries conducted several rounds of studies and consultations for the conclusion of the Trilateral Investment Agreement starting from 2004, and launched negotiations for the investment agreement in 2007. The three countries have already conducted 13 rounds of negotiations, and reached consensus on the text of the investment agreement, which is expected to be officially signed soon.
根据2003年《中日韩推进三国合作的联合宣言》，2004年起三国政府相关部门就商签中日韩投资协定进行了多轮研究和磋商，并于2007年启动中日韩投资协定谈判。目前三国共举行了13轮谈判，已就投资协定文本达成一致，有望近期正式签署。
The Yellow Sea Rim Economic and Technological Conference was officially launched in 2001. It is the only sub-regional cooperation mechanism involving the government, economic groups, companies, universities and research institutions of the three countries with the aim of developing proposals for cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology among relevant regions of the three countries. The conference is held annually in rotation among the three countries. The 12th conference will be held in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China in September this year.
泛黄海中日韩经济技术交流会议于2001年正式启动，是三国间唯一由政府、经济团体、企业、大学和研究机构共同参与的次区域合作机制，重点探讨三国相关地区在贸易、投资和科技领域的合作方案。会议每年在三国轮流举行，今年9月，第12次会议将在中国江苏省连云港市举行。
China-Japan-ROK Engineering Business Roundtable, which is attended by industrial organizations and enterprises on engineering contracting, aims to enhance trilateral exchanges and cooperation in engineering contracting and related fields. The first roundtable meeting was held in Tokyo in October 2011, and adopted a joint statement. The second roundtable meeting will be held in the latter half of 2012.
中日韩工程商务圆桌会议由三国工程承包行业组织和企业共同参加，旨在加强三国在工程承包等领域的交流合作。第一次会议于2011年10月在日本东京举行，三方讨论通过了首次圆桌会议的《联合声明》。第二次会议将于2012年下半年举行。
China-Japan-ROK Business Summit, which is co-sponsored by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Nippon Keidanren and the Federation of Korean Industries, has been held in conjunction with the Trilateral Summit Meeting since 2009. At the end of each business summit held so far, a joint declaration was issued to offer the views and policy recommendations of the business community for the leaders of the three countries on the future development of trilateral cooperation. As a side event of the Trilateral Summit Meeting, the business summit aims to create a good atmosphere for the leaders’ meeting and build a platform for dialogue and exchanges among the business communities of the three countries as well as between the business community and the government.
自2009年起，在三国领导人会议期间三方举行中日韩工商峰会。峰会由中国国际贸易促进委员会和日本经济团体联合会、韩国全国经济人联合会共同主办，目前已举行三届，每届会后都发表共同宣言，就三国合作未来发展向领导人提出工商界看法和政策建议。工商峰会作为领导人会议一项配套活动，有助于为领导人会议的举行营造良好氛围，同时搭建起三国工商界之间、工商界与政府之间对话交流的平台。