The 13th China-Northeast Asia Expo kicked off on Thursday in northeast China's 
Jilin Province, according to China Council for the Promotion of International 
Trade Jilin Committee.

The five-day event in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin, is the first 
international expo held in Northeast Asia since the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over a thousand enterprises from some 40 countries and regions have registered 
in the expo. 

Data shows that China's trade with the Northeast Asian countries totaled about 
417.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 26 percent year 
on year. The cumulative two-way transaction value exceeded 250 billion U.S. 
dollars. 

China has been deepening cooperation on infrastructure construction, energy, 
manufacturing and agriculture with these countries.

In the first eight months of this year, the trade volume between Russia and 
China was nearly 90 billion U.S. dollars, up by a third year on year, said 
Andrey Denison, Russian Ambassador to China.

During the expo, the participants reached a consensus that the pandemic has 
highlighted the necessity of accelerating regional economic integration, and 
Northeast Asian countries are embracing new opportunities for regional economic 
and trade cooperation. 

Now, China and Northeast Asian countries are having dialogues and cooperation 
under various regional economic cooperation frameworks such as the Belt and 
Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In 
addition, all countries have seen more chance for cooperation in areas such as 
the innovation and development of the digital economy and the joint efforts in 
face of global climate change. 

Nagasaka Yasumasa, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of 
Japan, said the fast implementation of the RCEP will further expand the 
cooperation in Northeast Asia. 

He noted that many Japanese companies have businesses in China's northeastern 
region. Now, Japan has reached agreements on collaborations in the fields of 
hydrogen energy applications and low-carbon city construction with Jilin 
Province and other regions. 

Politicians and businessmen believe that the integration of the development 
strategies of Northeast Asian countries with those of China will help the 
competitive industries of these countries better keep pace with the global 
development. 

S. Amarsaikhan, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia, said the country has been 
actively promoting the construction of Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor 
and the integration of its domestic projects with the Belt and Road Initiative.

The participants have reached an agreement to strengthen collaborations on 
marine economy, promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade, and 
intensify regional cooperation.

Source: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jilin Committee