On Wednesday, August 27, NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin attended the opening ceremony of the 15th China–Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, Jilin Province. The event was held under the theme “Join Hands with Northeast Asia, Open Up the Future Together”
The ceremony was presided over by Hu Yuting, Governor of Jilin Province, Hu Chunhua, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), delivered a congratulatory address and officially declared the Expo open followed by opening remarks from Huang Qiang, Party Secretary of Jilin Province.
Ni Ukilele, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Development of Mongolia delivered a congratulatory message in writing. Congratulatory remarks were also delivered by Yan Dong, Vice Minister of Commerce of China; Noh Geon-gi, Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea; Li Xingqian, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; and Jes Hildebrandt, Vice President of BSF of Germany. In addition, written congratulatory messages were sent by Yun Jeong-ho, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Affairs of North Korea, and Vladimir Ilichev, Vice Minister of Economic Development of Russia.
Vice Chairman Hu Chunhua highlighted that over the past twenty years, the Expo has actively promoted trade and investment cooperation in Northeast Asia through a spirit of openness and inclusivity. He emphasized that the Expo has now developed into the region's largest and most advanced economic and trade cooperation platform.
Marking its 20th anniversary, this year’s Expo brought together senior officials from six Northeast Asian countries, diplomatic missions in China, and around 1,029 enterprises from 45 countries and regions, as well as from 27 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Key programs included the Roundtable on Northeast Asian Local Cooperation, Russia Business Day, China–Japan Hydrogen Energy Industry Matchmaking, China–Korea Economic and Trade Exchange, and the Forum on High-Quality Development of Development Zones. These discussions explored new approaches to interregional cooperation, supply chain collaboration, the development of new-quality productive forces, and expanded trade and investment opportunities.
Ahead of the opening ceremony, Secretary-General Lim gave an interview with the Jilin Daily, where he reflected on attending the Expo in Jilin for the first time in six years. He remarked that, compared with the past, Jilin Province now demonstrates a more open mindset and an ability to swiftly adapt to changes in the global economy—an impression the left a strong mark.
On the previous day, Secretary-General Lim attended the welcome dinner, greeting Hu Yuting, Governor of Jilin Province; Damdiny Tsogtbaatar, Member of Parliament of Mongolia; Song Junji, Vice Governor of Shandong Province; and Qiqige, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He also took the opportunity to introduce NEAR to Xie Jing, Vice Governor of Hainan Province, and actively encouraged Hainan’s accession to NEAR.
Damdin Tsogtbaatar, Member of the Parliament of Mongolia (former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia)
Hishige, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Tang Dafeng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Administrative Committee of the China-Korea International Cooperation Demonstration Zone in Jilin Province
Hwang Jae-won, Chief Representative of KOTRA China
Other notable attendees included:
Zhao Ge, Chief Engineer, General Administration of Customs of China
Da Tsogtbaatar, Chair of the Legal Standing Committee of the Mongolian Parliament and Member of Parliament
Le Tumurchudur, Governor of Tuv Aimag, Mongolia
Ravil Akhmetshin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Government
Ivan Krupko, Governor of Gomel Region, Belarus
Damburachiren, Vice Minister of Food, Agriculture, Light Industry, and Livestock of Mongolia
Park Yang-woo, Former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea
Badri Kalandadze, Ambassador of Georgia to China
Takashi Hamada, Consul General of Japan in Shenyang
Ma Jung-su, Consul General of the DPRK in Shenyang