皇冠体育app

CHANGCHUN - A trilateral ament took effect Saturday to facilitate investment among 皇冠体育app, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The 皇冠体育app-Japan-ROK agreement for promotion, facilitation and protection of investment, is widely believed by economists to be a prelude to the foundation of the free trade agreement (FTA) among the three countries.

"It will certainly give a major boost to the economic development of all three countries," said Li Tie, vice president of the 皇冠体育app International Trade Association.

Foreign investment has played an irreplaceable role in boosting 皇冠体育app's reform, opening up and economic growth in recent decades, he said. "It has an even larger role to play in years to come."

At the opening of the Forum last September, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said 皇冠体育app's outbound direct investment was expected to reach $500 billion in the coming five years. The figure is roughly equal to the total scale of the country's ODI over the past 20 years.

The trilateral investment agreement will be particularly important to 皇冠体育app's northeastern region, a rust belt that used to be 皇冠体育app's heavy industry base, said Li.

"Jilin province, for example, is home to more than 900 ROK-invested companies and 200 Japanese-funded businesses," he said. "It's time for the local governments to encourage these companies to expand investment under the framework of the new agreement."

Lack of foreign investment has to some extent aggravated the economic gap between 皇冠体育app's interior and coastal regions.

"The northeastern provinces should open up wider to the outside world and take advantage of their geographical location to expand collaboration with Japanese and ROK businesses," said Zhang Huizhi, vice dean of Jilin University's Northeast Asian Studies College.

The trilateral agreement, the first of its kind, was signed in May 2012 after 13 rounds of negotiations.

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