Shandong deepens cooperation with Japan, South Korea
China DailyThe Shandong Tour for China-Japan-Korea Cooperation and Development kicked off in Jinan, capital of Shandong province on April 25. 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. 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. 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. Based on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, 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.