Expo a platform for cooperation

Major world players, China, Japan and South Korea, look to work together on economy, culture and tourism

The China-Japan-South Korea Industries Expo will be held in Weifang, Shandong province, from Sept 23 to 25.

As well as exhibitions, the expo will include forums, conferences and trade fairs. Set against the backdrop of the country's Belt and Road Initiative, the expo aims to create a platform for regional economic, cultural and tourism cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea.

China, Japan, South Korea and other East Asian countries are the world's major economies. Their steady economic development plays a crucial role in the economic growth of Asia, as well as the world's economic recovery, said Cai Guofeng, deputy secretary-general of the China Chamber of International Commerce.

"The expo will build a platform for exchanges and cooperation, to promote all-round and win-win cooperation," he said.

The expo is a joint product of the China Chamber of International Commerce, Japan International Trade Promotion Association, Korea International Trade Association, Shandong provincial government and Weifang municipal government.

According to the organizing committee, the exhibition will cover more than 40,000 square meters with more than 2,000 booths.

There will be five exhibition zones including a China- Japan-South Korea Economic Cooperation Demonstration Zone, as well as areas for the modern manufacturing industry, modern agriculture, modern service industry galleries, light industry and consumption products.

The expo's forums will cover themes including trade facilitation, agricultural cooperation and high technology transfer.

Weifang's total import and export volume reached $17.88 billion last year. Japan and South Korea were the city's second and third trading partners.

Liu Shuguang, mayor of Weifang, said the expo as a cooperation platform will boost economic integration and industrial upgrading among the three countries and accelerate the negotiation of the China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Weifang is one of the most economically dynamic cities in eastern China, with three State-level economic parks, including Weifang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Binhai Economic and Technological Development Zone and the comprehensive free trade zone.

The city covers a total of 16,100 square kilometers and has a population of 9.25 million. Its comprehensive strength ranks fourth in the province. Weifang has several nicknames including the world's kite city, Chinese traditional painting city and Chinese food valley. The city was also named the nation's most civilized city, the nation's model city for environmental protection and China's Garden City. It is also the hometown of China's first Nobel Laureate in literature Mo Yan.

Weifang's GDP reached 478.67 billion yuan ($77.1 billion) in 2014, up 9.1 percent from the previous year.

Data from Weifang city bureau of science and technology shows that the city has 461 high-tech enterprises. Last year, the city's high-tech industry output value reached 384.79 billion yuan, an increase of 11.8 percent from the previous year.

juchuanjiang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/24/2015 page6)