Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat

TCS 10th Anniversary Symposium Series Vol. 6 – Promoting Trilateral Cooperation at the Local Level: August 05, 2021

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The TCS hosted the online symposium on “Promoting Trilateral Cooperation at the Local Level” on August 5, 2021, as a part of the TCS 10th Anniversary Symposium Series. This symposium is supported by China International Friendship Cities Association (CIFCA), Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), and the Governors Association of Korea (GAOK). More than 400 participants from ministries, local governments, academia, and corporate of the three countries attended the symposium.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary this year, TCS has been staging a series of symposiums examining a wide range of subjects since February to promote substantive cooperation among the three countries, such as Youth Exchange (Vol. 1), Urban Regeneration (Vol. 2), Aging Societies and Business Innovation (Vol. 3), Shared Peace and Prosperity (Vol. 4), as well as Agricultural Development and Rural Revitalization (Vol. 5). This symposium is the 6th event in the series, aimed at promoting exchanges among China, Japan, and the ROK at the local level more closely interconnected with the daily lives of the people. The symposium involved an overview of trilateral local government exchange in each country (general status, achievements and challenges), representing cases of trilateral local exchanges, and measures to promote trilateral cooperation at the local level in the post COVID-19 era and the role of TCS.

The symposium consisted of individual presentations followed by the discussion and Q&A session. Professor YANG Kiho of Sungkonghoe University served as the moderator, and six presenters (two from each of the three countries for an overview and a case introduction each) took part in the symposium. The overview presentations provided comprehensive information on trilateral local-level exchanges in each country with a focus on sister/friendship-city exchanges and the Culture City of East Asia (CCEA) project. For the case introduction to showcase representative cases, the public officials from Yangzhou City of China (CCEA 2020), Kitakyushu City of Japan (CCEA 2021), and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province of the ROK (CCEA 2016) participated.

TCS Secretary-General MICHIGAMI Hisashi counted local exchanges as one of the most focused areas of trilateral cooperation promoted by the TCS and shared his expectations for the symposium to serve as an effective platform for top experts and working-level officials of related fields to share information and ideas despite being unable to meet face-to-face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Deputy Secretary-General CAO Jing in her closing remarks added that she hopes the symposium will help promote mutual understanding and trust between local governments and the private sectors of the three countries, and contribute to creating a healthier and friendly social foundation through local cooperation.

TCS will update and expand its role to support related stakeholders based on the results of this symposium and continue to focus on reinforcing local exchanges among the three countries throughout the future.