The 12th East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress titled "Win-Win Cooperation in East Asia" opened on Oct 26 in Linyi, Shandong province.

About 300 guests from countries and regions including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia attended the event, which aims to promote deeper cooperation in economic, trade, cultural, and technological fields, injecting new vitality into exchanges and cooperation in East Asia.

The 12th East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress opens on Oct 26 in Linyi, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In his speech, Yamashita Makoto, governor of Japan's Nara Prefecture, said that the East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress was initiated by Nara Prefecture and now has more than 70 local governments from seven countries as members.

He noted that the congress aims to explore common administrative issues faced by local governments across countries and enhance administrative capabilities through exchanges, as well as to deepen mutual understanding and communication among members, fostering friendship and trust among local governments.

"We highly identify with the two main topics of 'Strengthening Regional Communication and Cooperation under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Cooperation Framework' and 'Building a Modern Commerce and Logistics System to Promote High-Quality Economic and Social Development,'" said Nguyen Thanh Binh, vice-chairman of the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam.

He stated that Thua Thien Hue province has consistently prioritized the application of the green economy model over the traditional economic model in a bid to promote the transformation of urban economic models towards green development.

Linyi signs agreements for 32 cooperation projects with 20 East Asian government member units. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

He also expressed hope that through this congress, efforts will be made to strengthen the digital transformation of the socio-economic sector and promote sustainable green development, contributing to the economic and social development of various regions.

"The dynamic and promising East Asia region is an important participant of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Yin Daqi, the Asian Affairs Department Counselor from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Yin stated that China will continue to uphold the principles of openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, expanding high-level opening-up to contribute more positive energy to the strong and sustainable development of the global economy.

Local governments in East Asia can integrate their unique features and strengths, deeply integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative, share in the benefits of the RCEP, accelerate the construction of a modern trade and logistics system, and achieve mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, and common development at a higher level, said Yin.

"Since joining the East Asia Local and Regional Government Congress in 2011, Shandong has been at the forefront of openness and innovation, continuously strengthening its connections with various parties and achieving fruitful results in the fields of economy, education, tourism, and environmental protection," said Wang Guiying, vice-governor of Shandong.

Wang noted that Shandong will make better use of its industrial advantages, jointly develop more platforms with various countries, actively promote cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, technology, environmental protection, and energy, jointly explore markets, share in development opportunities, and work to achieve mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.

Ren Gang, Party secretary of Linyi, promoted Linyi at the event. He said that Linyi is creating a world-class business environment, adapting to the restructuring of international economic and trade rules, promoting the legalization of the business environment, strengthening intellectual property protection, ensuring that market entities have equal access to production factors, and participating in market competition openly, fairly, and equitably under the law and enjoying equal protection.

Linyi has also established platforms to boost international cooperation and exchange. It has established partnerships with 30 cities and regions in 20 countries and has established economic and trade relations with more than 210 countries and regions.

"We look forward to making friends with governments from all over the world and getting closer through communication and business cooperation," said Ren.

During the congress, Linyi reached agreements on 32 cooperation projects with 20 East Asian government member units, with a total investment of about 15.5 billion yuan ($2.12 billion).