2nd LD: Premier Li calls for disturbance-free China-Japan-S. Korea cooperation

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Sunday that Beijing hopes for its trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea to be free from disturbances.

He urged the three sides to keep a firm grasp on the general direction of their relations, so as to push forward their cooperation and allow their just-resumed trilateral summitry to proceed regularly.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the first China-Japan-South Korea leaders' meeting following a three-and-a-half-year hiatus.

The premier said the three sides had a frank exchange of views, reached many consensuses, and agreed to promote their cooperation on the basis of facing up to history, looking forward to the future, and properly handling historical and other sensitive issues.

Li asked an enhancement of mutual trust on the premise of common grounds on major issues, including historical issues, adding that all the three countries should take the responsibility of safeguarding regional stability and, in particular, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

He urged all the parties to tap the potential in trade and economic cooperation. With obvious complementarity to each other, the three economies have great potential in exploring production capacity cooperation.

Li encouraged the three sides to discuss new transnational cooperation modes to realize a multi-win situation instead of cut-throat competition.

Meanwhile, the premier suggested that the three nations should maintain regional financial stability, hoping that the free trade agreement (FTA) signed by China and South Korea in June could take effect as soon as possible.

China will facilitate negotiations of the trilateral FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in a bid to promote regional integration, he said.

Li emphasized on sustained development for better protecting ecology and environment as well as achieving poverty reduction, while stimulating economic growth.

The premier also asked more people-to-people exchanges among the three countries in order to increase dialogues and mutual understanding, which might lay a solid basis for trilateral cooperation.

Park said the three countries passed a joint declaration in which they agreed to resume regular trilateral summits.

For his part, Abe said Japan will host the China-Japan-South Korea summit next year and will use the outcome of the latest meeting as the starting point. Endi