TCS

On June 22 at the invitation of China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), TCS Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian delivered an open lecture entitled “Future in Our Hands: We Cannot Change Our History, but We Can Shape Our Future”. Attended via video link and live-streamed at Bilibili (a popular China video website), the lecture garnered a 200 strong audience of students, scholars and experts on international relations.Starting with appreciations on the close ties between TCS and CFAU under the Network of Trilateral Cooperation Think-tanks as well as in a series of youth exchange programs, Secretary-General OU elaborated on TCS’ role to consolidate the lasting peace, common prosperity and shared culture in the region. She put highlights on the extreme significance of Trilateral Cooperation under the current dynamic changes in regional and international landscapes from both its features of “external crisis driven” and “strong endogenous power”, and called for a stronger engagement of young professionals and students in promoting Trilateral Cooperation.In particular, Secretary-General OU raised the pressing issue of a common concern on the descending mutual perception among civil societies of the three countries. Quoting the metaphors of “blind men touching elephant” and “tale of two worlds (real and cyber)”, she gave analysis on the cause of formation of this problem from a cyberspace and information/communication technology dimension, and extended high expectation of the younger generations of the three countries to promote mutual understandings and deepen friendship for the good of future-oriented relations of the three countries as well as the peace and tranquility of the region. She welcomed CFAU students to join in future TCS youth programs by introducing TCS’ new initiative of “Trilateral Youth Exchange Network”.The lecture in CFAU marks a conclusion of TCS Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian’s first round of open classes in CJK universities. She gave lectures to Korean Dongseo University and Japanese Sophia University on May 2 and June 3 of this year respectively.▲Lecture by TCS Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian ongoing.

International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation 2022 27 Opinion leaders gather to discuss pathways for future-oriented Trilateral Cooperationamong China, Japan, and the Republic of KoreaTrilateral Cooperation Secretariat (Referred to as TCS hereafter; Secretary-General: OU Boqian) hosted the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation (IFTC) 2022 on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, under the theme “Future-Oriented Trilateral Cooperation: Lasting Peace, Common Prosperity, Shared Culture”. The year 2022 kicks off the second decade of TCS. Against the backdrop of the profound economic, social and humanitarian challenges brought by the pandemic, IFTC 2022 is an opportunity to make constructive policy recommendations for future Trilateral Cooperation among China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) and deliberate on TCS’ role in advancing Trilateral Cooperation. H.E. WANG Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, H.E. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and H.E. PARK Jin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of ROK delivered congratulatory messages on the opening of IFTC 2022. They highlighted the significance of forging cooperation in a fast-changing international landscape and reaffirmed continuous support for the expansion of TCS’ activities.In the opening session, congratulatory remarks were delivered consecutively by H.E. AIBOSHI Koichi, Ambassador of Japan to the ROK, H.E. XING Haiming, Ambassador of China to the ROK, and H.E. CHO Hyun-dong, 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ROK, followed by keynote speeches from Mr. HIROSE Katsusada, Governor of Oita Prefecture (Culture City of East Asia 2022), Japan, Mr. ZHANG Ping, Former Vice Chairman, Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, and Mr. KIM Hwang Sik, Former Prime Minister of the ROK and Chairman of Ho-Am Foundation. In the three sessions that followed, veteran politicians and diplomats, prominent scholars, and representatives of leading economic and cultural organizations shared insights on institutionalization of Trilateral Cooperation, inclusive economic growth, and cultural exchange. Session 1 “Engage to Embrace: Institutionalization of Cooperation as a Key to Human Security and Peace” assessed the role played by the trilateral cooperative scheme in times of crisis and discussed its future evolution to cope with potential non-traditional security challenges. Session 2 “A New Chapter: Driving Inclusive Growth for Regional Common Prosperity” examined how the three countries can harness emerging growth opportunities of regional trade frameworks, digitalization, and green transition to drive inclusive recovery in the post-pandemic era. Session 3 “From the Past to the Future: Embracing Shared Culture towards the Sense of Community” shed light on the shaping of shared cultural memories through a long history of exchanges among the three countries and explored how cultural exchange can enhance mutual understanding and trust.Currently, Trilateral Cooperation scheme consists of the Trilateral Summit Meeting, 21 Ministerial meetings, more than 70 government consultative meetings, and over 100 other cooperative projects covering a wide range of areas closely related to the life of the people in the three countries, such as economy, environment, health, disaster management, education, and youth. Since its establishment in September 2011, TCS has joined this endeavor to pursue peace and prosperity in the region and beyond. Entering its second chapter, TCS will “spare no efforts in carrying out the mandates of the three Governments for a more advanced Trilateral Cooperation, and will strive to fulfill our mission to further promote Lasting Peace, Common Prosperity and Shared Culture in this region”, stated Secretary-General OU Boqian in her opening remarks.Prior to the Forum, TCS also hosted the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in the New Decade- Publication and Project Launch Event on Monday, June 13, 2022, to showcase its efforts to foster Trilateral Cooperation. Two (2) new publications, An Evolving Trilateral Cooperation: Reality and Outlook, and Trilateral Economic Report 2011-2020 were launched. Projects introduced include the newly-established Trilateral Statistics Hub, a comprehensive one-stop trilateral data platform of more than 600 indicators, as well as plans of Trilateral Youth Exchange Network to integrate eight (8) existing and upcoming youth exchange-related projects, a key task through which TCS hopes to cultivate a positive understanding of Trilateral Cooperation. An Evolving Trilateral Cooperation: Reality and OutlookThe report contains two parts. The main body, “Decade of Progress on Trilateral Cooperation: 2010-2020”, extends a comprehensive review on the progress of 41 specific objectives in five major areas set forth in the Trilateral Cooperation Vision 2020 adopted at the 3rd Trilateral Summit Meeting in 2010; the other part, “In Dialogue with China-Japan-ROK Citizens”, six (6) eminent scholars, economists, editors and young professionals from the three countries shared their experiences as well as expectations with Trilateral Cooperation. The TCS wishes to offer a gateway for the public to grasp a full picture of the Trilateral Cooperation in parallel with a better understanding of its significance.(English) link: tcs-asia.org/data/etcData/PUB_1654742376.pdf (Chinese) link: tcs-asia.org/data/etcData/PUB_ch_1654650255.pdf(Japanese) link: tcs-asia.org/data/etcData/PUB_jp_1654650301.pdf(Korean) link: tcs-asia.org/data/etcData/PUB_kr_1654650147.pdf Trilateral Economic Report 2011-2020Joined by six (6) prominent think-tanks in China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, the Trilateral Economic Report 2011-2020 reviews economic cooperation among the three countries in the past 10 years and showcases the joint efforts the three countries made at national, regional, and global levels. It also provides insights into the cooperation in the next 10 years, with a view to spurring the efforts of our region to achieve common prosperity.(English) link: tcs-asia.org/data/etcData/PUB_1655080950.pdfTrilateral Statistics Hub “Trilateral Statistics Hub” is a digital portal for the public to acquire concrete data on each Trilateral Cooperation mechanism and project, so as to provide a comprehensive understanding on the development trend of the three countries individually as well as to understand the importance of Trilateral Cooperation by analyzing the integrated statistics.(English) link: data.tcs-asia.org/ Trilateral Youth Exchange Network “Trilateral Youth Exchange Network (TYEN)” is a new initiative by TCS that integrates eight (8) signature youth related projects carried out by TCS. These include the Young Ambassador Program, Trilateral Youth Speech Contest, Trilateral Youth Summit, Trilateral Young Entrepreneurs Forum, to name just a few. It is expected that TYEN would strengthen the co-relations among different youth projects, and amplify its positive influences on the younger generations of the three countries.▲Group Photo of dignitaries▲Congratulatory Remarks from H.E. CHO Hyun-Dong, 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea▲Congratulatory Remarks from H.E. AIBOSHI Koichi, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Korea▲Congratulatory Remarks from H.E. XING Haiming, Ambassador of China to the Republic of Korea▲Opening Remarks from TCS Secretary-General OU Boqian▲Keynote Speech by H.E. HIROSE Katsusada, Governor, Oita Prefecture (Culture City of East Asia 2022) of Japan▲Keynote Speech by H.E. ZHANG Ping, Former Vice Chairman, The National People’s Congress Standing Committee of China▲Keynote Speech by H.E. KIM Hwang-Sik, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea▲Session 1 Discussion▲Session 2 Discussion▲Session 3 Discussion▲Pre-event/ Press Briefing held on 13 June

The TCS has published the Research Report ‘China-Japan-Korea Local City Exchange 2022’ on June 10, 2022. This report is a unique source of comprehensive information and updates about trilateral local-level exchanges among China, Japan and the ROK. The report introduces 22 sets of city exchange groups, 5 key mechanisms/events and 61 cities involved in the exchanges. It aims to provide relevant stakeholders with updates on the examples, approaches and recent progress of CJK local-level exchange programs. The report is published in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and English and available for download on the TCS official homepage from July 1st. Meanwhile, the same contents are available through ‘CJK Local City Exchange’ webpage, the official website based on the research outcomes updated in 2022, and is also available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and English. On the webpage, users can easily search the participating cities and their exchange programs by country, local government, and area of exchange.

At the invitation of Sophia University, Secretary-General OU Boqian delivered an online lecture entitled “Shaping Our Future: Trilateral Cooperation among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea” on June 3, 2022 to promote understanding of Trilateral Cooperation. The lecture was hosted by the Sophia Institute for International Relations, and was joined by over 70 participants from within and outside the university.In the lecture, SG OU introduced the history and development of Trilateral Cooperation in detail and highlighted the role it has played in driving regional and global economic growth as well as stability. She discussed various traditional and non-traditional challenges that the region is now facing, and stressed that as leading economies in the region, the three countries can achieve a positive impact on lasting peace and common prosperity of Northeast Asia through close collaboration. TCS supports this process by conducting projects in partnership with the government, academia, business and the civil society. SG OU introduced some of the key youth projects such as the Young Ambassador Program and Speech Contest, and invited the students to join future programs.SG OU also discussed how the two parallel worlds of reality and cyberspace can lead to decline of mutual perceptions among people and even cause divisions or confrontations in the society. The rapid development of information technology has drastically changed people’s cognitive, behavioural and thought patterns, as well as the mode of human interaction and social governance structure. Individuals have a social responsibility to make efforts to discern the overwhelming amount of information that we are exposed to on a daily basis and not to be controlled by it. SG strongly encouraged the students to deepen mutual understanding towards a future that they would like to shape.Following SG OU’s lecture, TCS staff also shared her experiences of working at the TCS.Students actively engaged in Q&A session and asked questions on the projects of TCS, future prospects of regional cooperation, and working environment at the TCS.▲SG OU delivering her lecture▲Q&A session with student participants