Northeast Asian nations seal deals worth US$7.85b at expo 
2019-08-28
Politicians and business people have called on Northeast Asian countries to strengthen cooperation and make greater contributions to the global economy at an expo in Changchun, capital of northeast China’s Jilin Province.
The 12th China-Northeast Asia Expo, which concluded yesterday, had attracted around 600 exhibitors from over 40 countries and regions to seek cooperation opportunities in Northeast Asia, one of the most dynamic regions in the world.
Investment deals worth 55.58 billion yuan (US$7.85 billion)  were signed at the event. A total of 93 projects were sealed, including two projects worth more than 5 billion yuan, official data showed.
More than 30,000 merchants from 109 countries and regions attended the event.
With a population of nearly 1.7 billion, Northeast Asia, consisting of China, Russia, Japan, Mongolia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea, generates one-fifth of the world’s total GDP, according to official data.
In 2018, the trade volume between China and the five other countries in the region surpassed US$758 billion, nearly a quarter of China’s total foreign trade volume. China has become the largest trading partner of each of its five Northeast Asian neighbors.
China is willing to continue working with the Greater Tumen Initiative members to further coordinate development strategies and promote practical cooperation, so as to bring prosperity to the region, said Wang Shouwen, vice minister of commerce. 
Bulgantuya Khurelbaatar, vice finance minister of Mongolia, said Mongolia is willing to cooperate with countries in strengthening infrastructure connectivity and promoting trade development as well as investment facilitation.
China, Japan and South Korea play a pivotal role in regional cooperation, the development and opening-up of Northeast Asia. Japan and South Korea are China’s second and third largest trading partners, respectively. China’s trade with each of the two countries surpassed US$300 billion last year.
The region is home to an array of Japanese-funded enterprises.
Yoshihiro Seki, Japan’s state minister of economy, trade and industry, said Japan looks forward to strengthening third-party market cooperation while supporting Japanese enterprises in creating more jobs in China, especially in the northeast China.
Chi Fulin, head of the China Institute for Reform and Development, suggested the region speed up the construction of several third-party market cooperation demonstration zones and promote cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea in third-party markets.
