We, the heads of Government/State of the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea met in Fukuoka, Japan on December 13, 2008.

We gathered here to help lay a solid foundation in promoting our tripartite cooperation in the years to come, building upon progress to date.

Our economies are dynamic, resilient and closely interlinked. Our cultural and people-to-people ties are strong. We share common challenges as well as opportunities. We uphold visions and responsibilities for creating a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for the region and international community, and our tripartite cooperation contributes to achieving that goal.

We are content with the achievements made so far in the tripartite cooperation in enhancing mutual political trust, increasing trade and economic contact, expanding social and cultural exchange and strengthening financial cooperation. We have committed ourselves to further promote our trilateral cooperation building on these achievements.

We have reached common recognition that the tripartite cooperation will be guided under the principle of openness, transparency, mutual trust, common interest and respect for our diverse cultures, and that it will contribute to advancing wider regional cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN+3, EAS, ARF and APEC in a complementary and mutually reinforcing manner. At the same time, we shared the common understanding that our tripartite cooperation is crucial to address the serious challenges in the global economy and the financial markets. We are determined to pursue comprehensive cooperation including political, economic, social and cultural fields within both governmental and non-governmental frameworks in the future-oriented manner.

We are convinced that our Summit Meeting will pave the way for a new era of tripartite partnership that will lead to the peace and sustainable development in the region.

Recognizing the importance of this first-ever Trilateral Summit Meeting held independently of other occasions, we decided to hold the Summit in the three countries on a regular basis. We look forward to meeting again in China next year.

Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan

Lee Myung Bak, President of the Republic of Korea

Fukuoka, December 13, 2008

Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn