China, S. Korea, Japan should develop ties in spirit of taking history as mirror, look forward to future: Chinese FM

China, South Korea and Japan should develop their relations in the spirit of taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Wednesday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se and Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida after a trilateral meeting, Wang said to realize the healthy and stable development of their ties, China, South Korea and Japan should overcome difficulties, remove disturbances, build up consensus and focus on cooperation, so as to keep the cooperation of the three countries in the right direction.

The Chinese foreign minister said since the China-South Korea-Japan leaders' meeting last year, positive progress has been made in pragmatic cooperation and communication in all fields between the three sides which should be cherished.

He believed that Wednesday's gathering will create favorable atmosphere for the Group of 20 (G20) summit to be held in east China's Hangzhou early in September and pave the way for the East Asian leaders' meetings next month.

At the just concluded trilateral meeting, the three sides agreed that facing new changes in regional and international situation, China, South Korea and Japan should shoulder the responsibilities of promoting economic development in East Asia, taking the lead in regional cooperation in East Asia and maintaining regional peace and stability so as to make greater contribution to the overall revitalization of Asia as well as the world peace and development, Wang said.

The three sides also agreed to adhere to the consensus reached between the three countries and focus on promoting cooperation in four key areas of politics, economy and trade, people to people exchange, and sustainable development. The three countries should support and facilitate the trilateral cooperation through the "four-wheel drive," he said.

The Chinese foreign minister gave a detailed description of the "four-wheel drive."

Firstly, the three countries should accumulate political mutual trust, properly handle sensitive issues, step up security dialogue and policy consultation, and promote mutual understanding and trust.

Secondly, the three countries should carry out pragmatic cooperation, speed up the negotiation progress on China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Area and strive to achieve initial results at an early date. At the same time, they should actively push ahead the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for its completion on schedule, strengthen cooperation in areas including finance, international industrial capacity and energy, and make joint efforts to achieve the targeted goal of forging the East Asian Economic Community by 2020.

Thirdly, the three countries should enhance people exchange, expand personnel exchange, take the opportunity of hosting the Olympic Games successively by the three countries to build the East Asian Olympic Circle and improve friendly relations among the peoples of the three countries.

Fourthly, the three sides should push forward sustainable development, build the China-Japan-South Korea Circular Economy Demonstration Base and boost cooperation in the fields including environment protection, small and medium-sized enterprises and disaster relief.

The Chinese foreign minister added that the three sides spoke highly of the work of the trilateral cooperation secretariat and agreed to continue supporting the secretariat in playing a bigger role in the trilateral cooperation. Endit