Expo to boost trade ties between China, Japan, ROK

BEIJING — An expo to facilitate trade between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will take place in September this year, according to trade promotion agencies from the three countries.

The expo, with a focus on regional cooperation in smart manufacturing, the beauty industry and food, will be held in Weifang in East China's Shandong province from September 23 to 25.

According to Guo Yinghui, head of the exhibition and events department of China Chamber of International Commerce, the expo will push the development of a free trade agreement between the three countries and speed up regional integration.

"The world economy is still going through a downturn after the financial crisis. The stable economic and trade development of East Asian countries, including these three, will be crucial for Asia's growth," Guo said.

According to Zhang Daolan, chief representative of the Beijing office of Tokai Japan-China Trade Center, a trade promotion agency, the medium-high speed of economic growth in China has added to the confidence of Japanese companies in China.

As the business environment in China has continued to improve in recent years, the agency has seen increased investments by Japanese enterprises in China, especially in high-end manufacturing fields such as automobiles and machine tools, Zhang said.

This will be the third year that China has co-hosted the expo. Around 1,000 companies, 55 percent of them from overseas, attended the previous expos.