Abe said that Japan is committed to jointly uphold free trade and multilateralism with China and the ROK and to develop a fair, just and unbiased investment and business environment.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the trilateral cooperation mechanism. Trade volume among the three countries increased from $130 billion in 1999 to over $720 billion in 2018.

On Tuesday afternoon, the three leaders attended an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the trilateral cooperation mechanism at the Du Fu Thatched Cottage, a park and museum in honor of the poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Li took the other two leaders on a tour around the park, which has a cluster of ancient buildings and was decorated with bonsai and thick vegetation.

They jointly signed three commemorative envelopes printed specially for the celebration, and planted a tree in the park.

Shumpei Takemori, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo, said new economic norms should be prepared for sustainable economic cooperation between Japan, China and the ROK, and the RCEP and the tripartite FTA should be actively and properly employed.

Yuzo Tanaka, an economics professor at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, said a free trade zone benefits all three nations because the economies are complementary.

Contact the writers at xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn