(Yicai) May 27 -- The first summit meeting in four years of leaders from China, Japan, and South Korea will be significant in boosting trade between the countries, according to experts. 

China’s trade with the other two nations has declined in recent years due to environmental factors, said Chen Zilei, vice president of the Japanese Economic Association. The summit will promote trade and economic cooperation between them, including in the areas of elderly care, healthcare technology, and business partnerships, he noted.

East Asia’s three biggest economies agreed in 2008 to hold a high-level leadership summit each year. The main objectives of these meetings include promoting regional stability, fostering economic cooperation, addressing common challenges like security and climate change, and fortifying cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

The ninth meeting, held in the South Korean capital of Seoul yesterday and today, brought together Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The summit has created the conditions for restarting talks aimed at creating a trilateral free trade agreement, noted Chen, who is also director of the Japanese Economic Center at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics. China, Japan, and South Korea are global manufacturing powers and their combined gross domestic product rivals that of the United States or Europe, he added.

According to Chen, Japan and South Korea face economic problems, including insufficient demand and domestic inflation, further motivating them to economic cooperation with China.

The trio hope to enhance mutual understanding and trust among their peoples through rich and diverse cultural, educational, and personnel exchanges, according to Huang Fei, head professor at the Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies.

They seem to be competing in manufacturing, but there are many opportunities for cooperation given the vast supply chain, Huang noted. China and South Korea have their strengths in manufacturing and can achieve win-win results through alliance to optimize South Korean companies' costs and improve Chinese firms' global capabilities, he added.

The three countries face the common issue of aging populations and low birth rates, and they should enhance discussions and learning at the government and private levels to deal with these problems, Huang said.

The summit meeting will also be conducive to the stability of Northeast Asia, Chen and Huang predicted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev