The Shandong Tour for China-Japan-Korea Cooperation and Development kicked off in Jinan, capital of Shandong province on April 25. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Shandong Tour for China-Japan-Korea Cooperation and Development kicked off in Jinan, capital of Shandong province on April 25.

The event is aimed at enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation and pursuing common development among the three countries.

Hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shandong Provincial People's Government, the event was held online and offline and featured a series of themed activities such as a dialogue meeting, a meeting on local government cooperation, and business talks for enterprises from the three countries.

"China, Japan and South Korea are close to each other in terms of geographical location and cultural background, and the three are friendly neighbors and important partners. Shandong is one of the provinces that is close to Japan and South Korea, and enjoys natural geographical location advantages," said Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Lin added that the event offers an important bridge for Japan and South Korea enterprises to connect with Shandong and deepen cooperation among industries from the three areas, as well as promote the high-quality development of Shandong.

Statistics show that in 2020, more than 60,000 enterprises from Japan and South Korea settled in China, and China's foreign trade with both countries exceeded $600 billion despite the global COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 452 cities in the three countries established friendship city ties last year.

Lin said that the industrial, supply and value chains of the three are deeply integrated, and they have broad common interests and tremendous potential for cooperation. Based on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), China will join hands with Japan and South Korea to accelerate the construction of the world's largest free trade zone, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in areas including technology research and development, high-end manufacturing, energy conservation and environment protection, 5G, artificial intelligence, and digital industrialization.

Kim Kyung Han, consul general of Korea in Qingdao, said that the joint cooperation among the three countries are very important, and they should work together to open up new vistas for the development in the post-COVID era.

Masaru Igawahara, consul general of Japan in Qingdao, noted that Shandong has a large population and is an economic powerhouse, and boasts an attractive market and great potential for economic development.

There are currently 5,860 companies from Japan and South Korea investing in Shandong, with investments totaling $33.44 billion. Shandong will ramp up efforts to create a world-class business environment for investors that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, according to the province's official.