Leadership of TCS and extinguished guests including high-public profile political figures and high-level officials from the ministries of Foreign Affairs will give remarks and build momentum for new trilateral partnership in the next decade.

Topics
1. Trilateral Cooperation Vision for the Next Decade – New Opportunities and Challenges
2. Retrospect and Prospect: TCS’ Role and Its Development

The first decade of the TCS has witnessed its growing role in promoting trilateral cooperation with its wide engagement in 16 tripartite ministerial meetings as well as many inter-governmental dialogue mechanisms and cooperative projects at various levels. The achievements made by the TCS were acknowledged by leaders of the three countries during the latest Trilateral Summit in 2019, where they further showed determination to support the continuous capacity-building of the TCS. It is also the expectation of all stakeholders that the TCS should play a more significant role in promoting shared peace and prosperity in this region and beyond.

The new course of development of the TCS concurs the trilateral cooperation in its third decade. The outbreak and profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic only underline the significance and necessity of joint efforts among the three countries in order to safeguard greater interests including lasting peace and security, and speedy recovery and common development. Against the above backdrop, it is important to recognize the challenges and opportunities we are confronting so as to ensure a right path of cooperation under the guidelines of Trilateral Cooperation Vision for the Next Decade.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of TCS, this session aims to invite former senior diplomats or eminent scholars who have witnessed, participated in or promoted the development of the trilateral cooperation to share their experiences and expectations on the new opportunities of the future trilateral cooperation in the post-pandemic era and TCS’ role in this regard.

Topics
1. Digital Economy
2. Sustainable Development
3. Business Recovery

Trilateral cooperation in economic and trade has achieved fruitful results. The trade volume among the three countries increased from USD 130 billion in 1999 to more than USD 720 billion in 2018. The outbreak of COVID-19, however, has imposed unprecedented challenges to global economy. The pandemic has disrupted trade and supply chain, suspended cross-border business exchanges, shrunk consumption and investment, and reduced overall economic activities. It is critical to come up with new measures to recover business and economic activities from COVID-19.

In this context, many companies have altered towards digital ways. The past decade witnessed fast-growing of digital economy. The pandemic has expedited the process further. We have experienced positive aspects such as application of digital technologies into combating the pandemic, contactless telecommute working style, increased online consumption, and E-learning. Moving forward, digital economy will contribute more to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 including good health and well-being, quality education, decent work and economic growth, etc. At the same time, however, development of digital economy brought side effects such as increase of packaging wastes and damages to physical retail stores due to rise in e-commerce, excessive digital dependence, and digital divide. These impose ensuing challenges to the SDGs.

Business is an active player in digital economy and is playing a more important role in contributing to sustainable development. In the current and post pandemic period, there are many agendas for business community to jointly work on. This session invites speakers from CJK leading economic syndicates to review current status and challenges, and make suggestions about economic recovery and future-oriented win-win cooperation. The speakers are expected to touch upon topics including 1) digital economy, 2) sustainable development, and 3) business recovery. They are also welcomed to share perspectives of how TCS can support the future economic and business cooperation among the three countries.

Topics
1. Trilateral Youth Exchange Now and Then: Past Achievements and Current Impact of COVID-19
2. Youth Community Building for the Next Decade and the Role of the TCS

The three countries and TCS have strived to provide various exchange opportunities to young people, building bridges across cultures and preparing the next generation of global leaders to succeed in the international community. The CAMPUS Asia* program, for example, has had more than 6,000 students from nearly 40 universities by 2020, contributing to the establishment of a higher educational network among the three countries. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and TCS have been collaborating on the Trilateral Youth Summit (TYS) and the Young Ambassador Program (YAP) to promote understanding and friendship among students who are passionate about international cooperation and diplomacy. Every year, over 100 elementary students and 30 alumni from the three countries gather for the Children’s Story Exchange (CSE) program. Furthermore, cultural and creative industries are helping young people enhance artistic and creative skills through opportunities such as the Asia International Youth Film Festival (AIYFF) and the Wukong Cup Comic Contest. There are also active exchanges among local cities such as the Culture Cities of East Asia (CCEA) to attract individuals to the diversity of local cultures.

Although the global pandemic has disrupted international travel and face-to-face communication, youth program stakeholders and experts are working hard to rearrange their programs through new approaches and initiatives such as virtual exchanges. The last session will bring together stakeholders who have led trilateral youth exchanges in different fields to reflect on their ongoing efforts, identify challenges we face, and discuss ways to keep CJK youth interested and further engaged in trilateral cooperation, highlighting how TCS can contribute in this regard.

*Collective Action for Mobility Program of University Students in Asia