On May 13, 2012, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met respectively with President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at the Great Hall of the People.

During the meeting with Lee Myung-bak, Wen said in recent years, China-ROK relations have withstood the test of the changing international and regional situation, and bilateral cooperation in various fields has made important progress. China and the ROK should take the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year as an opportunity to conduct closer strategic communication and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to make the bilateral ties more mature, secure and fruitful and bring more benefits to both peoples. He also called on the two sides to make unremitting efforts for the regional peace, stability and progress.

As for the free trade negotiations that the two countries are going to start, Wen said the two sides should speed up their work in the spirit of reciprocity and try to achieve consensus as early as possible. China welcomed ROK companies to take part in its process of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading, and encouraged Chinese companies to invest in the ROK, Wen noted. He called on the two sides to actively build some projects including the China-ROK industrial park, a trilateral demonstration base for circular economy and economic cooperation zones among localities, and to strengthen financial cooperation. The premier also congratulated Lee for the inauguration of the Yeosu World Expo. Wen said China would actively participate in relevant activities of the Expo and believed it would be a great success.

Lee said since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago, mutual political trust has been continuously enhanced and bilateral cooperation has enjoyed all-round development and become increasingly mature and solid. He said the ROK would enhance communication and coordination with China, push forward negotiations on the free trade area, seriously implement the investment agreement among the three countries, and promote the ROK-China cooperation and regional cooperation to achieve more substantial results.

During the meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Wen said though the China-Japan relationship has witnessed remarkable progress since ties were normalized 40 years ago, it has also undergone downturns, which have brought profound experiences and lessons. At present, the Sino-Japanese relations are facing new development opportunities and both sides share broader common interests. Promoting cooperation needs to have solid political mutual trust and strategic mutual trust as a guarantee. Wen also reaffirmed China's principled position on the Diaoyu Islands and Xinjiang-related issues. He urged Japan to truly respect China's core interests and major concerns, carefully and properly handle relevant issues and stick to the correct path of the development of bilateral ties in accordance with the principles enshrined in the four political documents signed between the two nations.

China's development has provided an opportunity for Japan and the international community, Noda said. Japan attaches great importance to and is committed to advancing its reciprocal relationship with China, and the country stands ready to reinforce bilateral high-level contacts, political mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges in accordance with the principles enshrined in the four political documents signed between the two nations, he said. Noda said that Japan has no intention of interfering with China's internal affairs, adding that Japan will keep the overall situation in mind and work with China to properly handle relevant issues so as to avoid affecting relations.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Ping, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, Chinese Ambassador to the ROK Zhang Xinsen and Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua attended the meetings.

On the same day, the three leaders attended the launching ceremony of the "CAMPUS Asia" program, watched the talent show by the young people from the three countries and held exchanges with the youth.