Summary of the Trilateral Meeting of the Leaders of Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea
24 November 2000
From 09:00 to 10:20 on 24 November, the three leaders of Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea held a breakfast meeting, hosted by President Kim Dae Jung, President of the Republic of Korea. The main points of the meeting were as follows:
1. Holding the Trilateral Meeting as a Regular Annual Event
The three leaders agreed to holding a trilateral meeting as a regular annual event on the occasion of the ASEAN+3 Summit Meeting. (The leaders of the three countries will take turns to host the trilateral meeting.)
2. Agreement on Specific Measures for Cooperation
| 1. | Joint Research on Economic Cooperation among Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea Regarding joint research on economic cooperation among Japan, China, and the ROK, which was proposed by President Kim Dae Jung on the occasion of the trilateral breakfast meeting in 1999, the leaders confirmed that think tanks in their respective countries would begin the research from January 2001. |
| 2. | Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges President Kim Dae Jung proposed to promote exchanges between the capital cities of the three countries. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori responded by proposing to promote exchanges among the three countries in 2002, which is the "Year of Japan-Republic of Korea National Exchange" and the 30th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Japan and China. In this context, Prime Minister Mori proposed to implement a "Japan-China-Republic of Korea Young Leaders' Program." Premier Zhu Rongji then proposed that 2002 be designated the "Year of Japan-China-Republic of Korea National Exchange," to which the leaders agreed. |
| 3. | IT Cooperation Prime Minister Mori suggested that Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea should promote East Asian cooperation in the area of information technology (IT) by supporting the efforts of ASEAN, such as the "e-ASEAN Initiative." Prime Minister Mori also mentioned that, in the ASEAN+3 Summit Meeting later in the afternoon of 24 November, he would propose the holding of the "Joint Conference of Government Officials, Prominent Academics and Business Leaders for IT Cooperation in East Asia" in Japan in 2001 and requested the cooperation of both China and the Republic of Korea. Premier Zhu stated his approval of Japan-China-Republic of Korea cooperation in "e-ASEAN," and proposed the establishment of a forum at the working level to discuss this issue, to which the three leaders agreed. |
| 4. | Environmental Cooperation Prime Minister Mori proposed the three following points: a) creation of a network for survey and research, observation and monitoring, and information sharing on the environment; b) the promotion of environmental training and education to foster a sense of community spirit on the issue of the environment; and c) submission of concrete environmental cooperation projects to the trilateral summit meeting the following year. The leaders agreed on the above points. |
3. Other Issues (Cooperation in the framework of ASEAN+3)
President Kim emphasized the importance of regional cooperation, mentioning the East Asia Vision Group, in response to which Prime Minister Mori mentioned the "Japan-East Asia Partnership Initiative" and proposed that Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea cooperate to meet the challenges which ASEAN countries face, such as the Mekong river basin development. All leaders agreed to this.
4. It was decided that Japan will host the trilateral meeting next year.
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