华章
By Hua Zhang
日前，据韩国外交部消息称，中日韩高官会定于9月26日在韩国首尔举行。这是三国时隔4年后再次举办高官会，被外界普遍认为是重启中日韩合作机制的重要契机。
According to messages from the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs a few days ago, the China-Japan-ROK senior officials' meeting is scheduled to be held in Seoul on September 26. This marks the resumption of the meeting after a gap of four years, which is widely seen as an important opportunity to restart the trilateral cooperation mechanism.
中日韩高官会始于2007年5月，上次会议于2019年12月在中国成都举行。彼时，会议发表的《中日韩合作未来十年展望》，为三国在经贸、科技、人文、环境等多领域的务实合作规划了蓝图，奠定了基础。多年来，中日韩三国各领域交流合作不断向前推进，共举行了8次领导人会议和9次外长会议，建立了21个部长级会议和70多个对话机制。高官会也同中日韩领导人会议、外长会一起，构成了中日韩合作机制的重要组成部分。
The China-Japan-ROK senior officials' meeting was initiated in May 2007 and the last meeting was held in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province in December 2019. The Trilateral Cooperation Vision for the Next Decade issued at that latest trilateral summit meeting drew up a blueprint and laid the foundation for practical cooperation in the economy and trade, science and technology, people and culture, environment, and other diverse fields for the three countries. China, Japan and the ROK have made continuous progress in exchanges and cooperation of various fields over the years, jointly holding eight trilateral summit meetings and nine foreign ministers' meetings, establishing 21 ministerial meetings and more than 70 dialogue mechanisms. Together with these trilateral summit meetings and foreign ministers' meetings, the senior officials' meetings also constitute an important part of the trilateral cooperation mechanism.
但囿于历史纠葛、地缘政治等因素，中日韩合作机制也曾经历波折。比如中日韩领导人会议定于每年召开一次，由三国轮流做东，但自2008年首次会议以来，迄今只举行过8次。特别是近年来，个别域外国家霸权主义、孤立主义死灰复燃，强拉日韩两国构筑反华包围圈，进一步损害了三国之间的合作氛围。
However, the China-Japan-ROK cooperation mechanism has also experienced setbacks due to historical entanglement, geopolitics and other factors. For example, the trilateral summit meetings were designed to be hosted by the three countries in rotation once a year, but only registered a number of eight since the first meeting in 2008. Especially in recent years, individual country outside the region has resumed hegemonistic and isolationistic mentalities, forcing Japan and the ROK to build encirclement against China, which has further damaged the collaborative atmosphere of the three countries.
然而，三国之间地理相近、文化同源，是搬不走的邻居。泉州、横滨、光州等城市自古以来便有密切的经贸文化交流。三国之间产业链高度互补，经贸往来活跃，经济一体化趋势愈发凸显。2022年中韩、中日贸易额分别为3623亿美元和3574亿美元，韩日分别为中国的第四和第五大贸易伙伴。特别是《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》签署后，三国在共同开拓海外市场方面迎来了新机遇，全球价值链在东亚区域内有望得到进一步巩固。此外，在东北亚地区安全方面，三国也是重要的利益攸关方。只有三国携手合作，才能实现地区的和平稳定，也才能为各自的繁荣发展打下安全基石。
Nevertheless, the three countries are inseparable neighbors with immediate geographical vicinity and the same cultural origin. Cities like Quanzhou, Yokohama and Gwangju have shared close economic, trade and cultural ties since ancient times. The three countries have witnessed highly complementary industrial chains, vigorous economic and trade exchanges, and a more evident economic integration tendency. In 2022, China's trade volumes with the ROK and Japan reached 362.3 billion and 357.4 billion US dollars respectively, making the two its fourth and fifth largest trading partners. Particularly, in the wake of the endorsement of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Treaty, they have ushered in new opportunities in jointly exploring overseas markets, and are expected to further consolidate the global value chains within East Asia. In addition, they are also important stakeholders in terms of the regional security of Northeast Asia. Only by collaboration can they achieve regional peace and stability and build a foundation for their own prosperity and development.
反过来，任何一国的安全问题都一定会外溢成为另外两国的安全挑战。可见，无论是经济还是地区安全方面，中日韩都已经成为了一荣俱荣、一损俱损的命运共同体。
On the other side, any security problem in one country is bound to spill over and become a security challenge for the other two. It is visible that China, Japan and the ROK have become a community with a shared future that prospers and loses synchronously either in the aspect of economy or regional security.
也因此，即便当前外部局势复杂多变，脱钩断链图谋大行其道，中日韩三国仍然本着维护共同利益的原则，努力改善交流氛围，促成合作机制重启。
Therefore, despite the complex and volatile external situations and the prevailing plot of decoupling, the three countries still strive to improve the coordination atmosphere and facilitate restoring the cooperation mechanism in the principle of safeguarding the common good.
在本次高官会之前，三国之间的多次良性互动，已经释放了鲜明信号：今年7月和9月，中日韩央行行长、文化部长时隔4年分别举行线下会晤，探讨三方在相关领域加强合作；7月25日和8月31日，日本外相林芳正、中国外交部长王毅公开表示，支持韩方为推动三方合作发挥积极作用；9月5日，韩国总统尹锡悦在对印尼进行访问前表示，中日韩三方合作应重回正轨，韩方将为激活三边合作竭尽全力。
Prior to this senior officials' meeting, frequent positive interactions among them have sent out clear signals. In July and September 2023, their central bank governors and culture ministers respectively held offline meetings to discuss strengthening trilateral cooperation in relevant fields after a 4-year hiatus. On July 25 and August 31, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi publicly expressed support for the ROK to play a positive role in promoting trilateral cooperation. Later, on September 5, ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol stated ahead of his visit to Indonesia that the trilateral cooperation should return to the right track, and the country will make every effort to revitalize the process.
大道不孤，众行致远。面对百年变局下全人类共同面对的困难挑战，中国始终坚持与邻为善、以邻为伴的周边外交方针，致力于巩固同周边国家的睦邻友好合作关系，坚信互利合作才是破解时代难题、防范化解各类风险的正确之道。也希望韩日双方能够与中方相向而行，排除干扰，携手共进，激活三国合作交流机制，重整行装再出发，共同振兴亚洲、造福世界。
A just cause finds great support, and a journey with many companions goes far. Amid the difficulties and challenges faced by all mankind on the occasion of centennial changes, China has always adhered to the principle of building friendship and partnership with neighbors and the foreign policy of fostering an amicable, peaceful and prosperous neighborhood, and is committed to consolidating friendly cooperation with our neighboring countries. China firmly believes that mutually beneficial cooperation is the right path to overcome the difficulties of the times and to prevent and resolve various risks, and hopes that the ROK and Japan work together in the same direction to remove interferences, activate the trilateral cooperation and exchange mechanism, and resume the journey to jointly revitalize Asia and benefit the world.
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
