Entrepreneurs in South Korea, Japan and China called for free trade and economic cooperation at a business meeting held in Chengdu, China, according to a local business association Tuesday.

The business summit, jointly organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its Japanese and Chinese counterparts, was held on the sidelines of the summit between leaders of the three nations.

The event was attended by President Moon Jae-in, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and around 600 business leaders from the three countries. 

Leaders from Korea included KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan, Samsung Electronics CEO Yoon Boo-keun, Hyundai Motor Group President Kong Young-woon and SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun.

The representatives of the three business associations adopted a joint statement that supports free trade, economic integration and cooperation in new industries.

The statement requested their governments’ continuous efforts to secure free trade, final settlement of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership next year and finalize the free trade agreement among the three nations. They said they believed the high level of the FTA is expected to create an open and smooth trade environment.

It also emphasized technical cooperation to achieve innovation growth. It calls for countries to create a more open, fair and transparent corporate environment and to eliminate the barriers to movement of innovation and knowledge between states.

Finally, the joint statement stressed the need to cope with environmental and aging issues to improve the quality of life of the people. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)