Beijing News reported that, on November 19, 2011, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President, Lee Myung Bak. Wen called for an intensified joint effort to complete the research work on the free trade zone of the three nations. He expected the free trade negotiation to start next year and a completion of the investment negotiation as early as possible. China, Japan and Korea are the three most important nations in the East Asia region. The sum of the GDP of these three countries accounts for more than half of the GDP of the entire East Asia region. However, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences expressed the belief that the three nations have to build political trust first.
Source: Beijing News, November 20, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-11/20/content_293741.htm?div=-1