China-Japan-South Korea Agricultural Ministers' Meeting Held in South Korea

The fourth China-Japan-South Korea Agricultural Ministers' Meeting was held in Incheon, South Korea, on the 11th. Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun, South Korean Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung, Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Kōichi Hagiuda, and Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat Lee Hee-sup attended the meeting.

The trilateral agricultural ministers' meeting resumed after a seven-year hiatus, with the previous session held in Beijing in November 2018. During this meeting, the ministers discussed six key topics: food security, animal disease prevention and control, sustainable agriculture, rural revitalization, cooperation on globally important agricultural heritage systems, and global collaboration, while exchanging views on future cooperation directions.

Facing complex agricultural challenges such as climate crises, cross-border infectious disease spread, and supply chain instability, the three sides reached a consensus on the importance of information sharing and joint responses. They also agreed to expand complementary cooperation in areas such as smart agriculture, green and low-carbon agriculture, and training for new-generation farmers.

Han Jun stated that amid complex and volatile international relations, rising unilateralism and protectionism, and worsening global climate change, the agricultural and rural development of China, Japan, and South Korea faces shared challenges. China is willing to work with Japan and South Korea to engage in candid dialogue, build consensus, and take coordinated action to fully restart agricultural cooperation. The goal is to establish a more resilient, broader, closely connected, and substantive trilateral agricultural cooperation framework, jointly contributing to the revitalization and prosperity of regional agriculture and rural areas.

Han Jun expressed hope that this meeting would serve as an opportunity for the three countries to advance practical agricultural cooperation to a new level and jointly build a new pattern of agricultural collaboration.

Following the meeting, the three ministers signed a joint communiqué and agreed to hold regular and institutionalized meetings. The next trilateral agricultural ministers' meeting will be held in Japan.