The 13th China-Northeast Asia Expo kicks off in northeast China

CHANGCHUN, China, Sept. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 13th China-Northeast Asia Expo kicked off on Thursday in northeast China's Jilin Province, according to China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jilin Committee.

The five-day event in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin, is the first international expo held in Northeast Asia since the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Over a thousand enterprises from some 40 countries and regions have registered in the expo.

Data shows that China's trade with the Northeast Asian countries totaled about 417.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 26 percent year on year. The cumulative two-way transaction value exceeded 250 billion U.S. dollars.

China has been deepening cooperation on infrastructure construction, energy, manufacturing and agriculture with these countries.

In the first eight months of this year, the trade volume between Russia and China was nearly 90 billion U.S. dollars, up by a third year on year, said Andrey Denison, Russian Ambassador to China.

During the expo, the participants reached a consensus that the pandemic has highlighted the necessity of accelerating regional economic integration, and Northeast Asian countries are embracing new opportunities for regional economic and trade cooperation.

Now, China and Northeast Asian countries are having dialogues and cooperation under various regional economic cooperation frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In addition, all countries have seen more chance for cooperation in areas such as the innovation and development of the digital economy and the joint efforts in face of global climate change.

Nagasaka Yasumasa, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, said the fast implementation of the RCEP will further expand the cooperation in Northeast Asia.

He noted that many Japanese companies have businesses in China's northeastern region. Now, Japan has reached agreements on collaborations in the fields of hydrogen energy applications and low-carbon city construction with Jilin Province and other regions.

Politicians and businessmen believe that the integration of the development strategies of Northeast Asian countries with those of China will help the competitive industries of these countries better keep pace with the global development.

S. Amarsaikhan, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia, said the country has been actively promoting the construction of Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor and the integration of its domestic projects with the Belt and Road Initiative.

The participants have reached an agreement to strengthen collaborations on marine economy, promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade, and intensify regional cooperation.