CBN丨China, S.Korea, Japan call for enhancing trade cooperation as US tariffs loom

2025年03月31日 20:39 21世紀經濟報道 21財經APP 李瑩亮

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

China, South Korea and Japan agreed to enhance trade cooperation as US is implementing reciprocal tariffs on April 2;
China’s manufacturing PMI rises to 50.5 in March.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

Top trade officials from China, Japan and South Korea exchanged in-depth views on the enhancement of trade and investment cooperation, regional and multilateral cooperation on Sunday, and reached a broad consensus during the 13th Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting among China, Japan and South Korea held in Seoul, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao co-chaired the meeting with South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto. It marked the first time since December 2019 that the industry ministers of the three nations held a trilateral meeting.

The Sunday meeting took place as the US announced plans to impose 25-percent auto tariffs starting on April 2. With the increase of external unilateral moves, the trilateral meeting points the direction for the three sides to further utilize their respective strengths in the field of economic cooperation to jointly resist the turbulence brought by the US' irresponsible approach, analysts said, noting that the consensus to deepen economic and trade cooperation reached by the meeting will inject stability into the world.

During the meeting, Wang Wentao noted that the economic and trade departments of the three countries agreed to strengthen cooperation under regional and multilateral frameworks such as the WTO, RCEP and APEC, discuss accelerating the negotiations on the China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), strengthen supply chain cooperation and dialogue on export control, as well as deepen cooperation on the digital and green economies.

Wang said China, Japan and South Korea, as important economies in the region and the world, should jointly safeguard free trade and the multilateral trading system, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and continue to push forward regional economic integration, so as to inject strong impetus into the prosperity and development of the world economy.

According to a joint media statement after the meeting released by China’s commerce ministry, the three countries support a rules-based, open, inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.

Experts noted that the three countries, acting as a locomotive for economic development in the Asia-Pacific region, have sent voices in support of multilateralism and free trade to the world, and the consensus to deepen economic and trade cooperation reached by the meeting has practical significance.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.5 in March, up 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier, running in the expansion territory for the second consecutive month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday. NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said that both production and demand in the manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace. In March, the production index and new orders index stood at 52.6 and 51.8, respectively, rising by 0.1 and 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.

GBA express

Passenger and vehicle trips through the Zhuhai highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) set a new record in the first quarter of the year, the highest since the bridge opened in 2018, underscoring the mega bridge's growing role in integrating the GBA. According to Zhuhai border authorities, the port recorded 7.5 million passenger crossings in the first quarter, a 23 percent year-on-year increase, while vehicle crossings soared 31 percent to reach 1.56 million, both setting new records.
Guangdong's EHang has received the first-ever operation certificate (OC) for autonomous passenger drones issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the first time that the regulator has issued these certificates for passenger-carrying civil unmanned aircraft. Hefei Hey Airlines also got the OC.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is discussing with the nation’s central bank widening cross-border banking data sharing in a bid to expedite loan approvals for enterprises. Alan Au Yuk-lun, the HKMA’s executive director for banking conduct, said about 40,000 active Hong Kong-owned enterprises in Shenzhen require financing from mainland banks, while a similar number of mainland-related personal loan applications are processed by Hong Kong banks annually.
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) and China Resources jointly launched a new talent recruitment program on Friday, offering subsidies of up to HK$10,000 per month to returned overseas talents. Under the “Beyond Dreams – Global Talent Ignite” initiative, eligible returnees will receive the subsidy for a period of six months to one year.

Industry and company news

Chinese airlines started on Sunday to implement a set of summer and autumn flight plans, which will run until October 25, while the mileages of international flight routes continues to expand. The CAAC said on Sunday that it has approved 140 domestic and foreign airlines, including 32 Chinese airlines, to operate 17,512 passenger flights per week, of which 11,004 flights are by Chinese carriers, an increase of 38.4 percent year-on-year, involving 77 foreign countries.
Four Chinese state-owned banks announced plans on Sunday to introduce the Ministry of Finance as a strategic investor through targeted share placements, with their boards having approved proposals to issue A-shares to designated investors.
China will issue 500 billion yuan of special treasury bonds to support large state-owned commercial banks in replenishing their core tier-one capital, the Ministry of Finance said today.
Alibaba Cloud and Nanjing University today announced a partnership to cultivate AI talents. Alibaba Cloud will provide free cloud computing and AI resources to all Nanjing University students, supporting their research and innovation in AI.
PetroChina's net profit grew 2 percent to record 164.7 billion yuan last year from the year prior, according to the Chinese oil giant. Revenue fell 2.5 percent to 2.94 trillion yuan because of declining prices and sales of gasoline and diesel products.
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced on Monday that it has discovered a major oilfield in the eastern South China Sea, with proven reserves exceeding 100 million tons. The newly discovered Huizhou 19-6 oilfield marks a breakthrough in China's offshore oil exploration, as it is the country's first large-scale integrated clastic oilfield discovered in deep to ultra-deep layers, CNOOC said.

Asia-Pacific highlights

China will provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan in emergency humanitarian aid to support earthquake relief efforts and deliver supplies, a spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency said on Saturday. The first batch of supplies is scheduled for delivery today. One Chinese national was confirmed dead and 13 got injured in the earthquake in Myanmar, the Chinese embassy in the Southeast Asian country said today. A total of 1,644 people died, 3,408 were injured, and 139 remain missing in Myanmar after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake on Friday. The Hong Kong SAR has also announced to set aside HK$30 million to help the victims of the earthquake, and sent a 51-strong team to assist in the search and rescue work in the earthquake-stricken areas of Myanmar on Saturday.
The China-Laos Railway's "Lancang-Mekong Express" international freight train arrived at Wangjiaying West Station in Kunming, the capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Sunday, reaching a milestone in total freight volume since its launch in December 2021, according to China Railway Kunming Group.
COMAC delivered its first C909 aircraft to Lao Airlines on Sunday, marking the first time that a Chinese jet airliner has entered the Lao market. Delivered under a lease agreement, it will begin operations after preparatory work is completed in Laos, COMAC said.