We open with a look at trade. Top negotiators from China, Japan and South Korea met in Beijing on Friday to discuss increasing trade and investment. The negotiators agreed to advance the consensus reached by their leaders to accelerate talks on a free trade deal between the three countries. The countries also will explore ways to improve trade and investments through a China-Japan-ROK free trade agreement based on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. CGTN's Liu Yang reports.

Negotiations for a trade deal between China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are underway in Beijing. Together the three economies account for more than 20 percent of global GDP. China's Vice Minister Wang Shouwen emphasized the goal of talks.

WANG SHOUWEN, DEPUTY MINISTER MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "We have good reason to believe that it is time for the three countries to accelerate negotiations, the three countries have the common political will to accelerate negotiations, China, Japan, and Korea are close neighbors and have complementary industrial strength, further opening domestic markets will enable more efficient allocations of resources."

Some experts argue, as trade protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise around the world, globalization and the free trade system are under attack, and the risks and challenges are intensifying.

YOO MYUNG-HEE, DIRECTOR GENERAL S. KOREAN MINISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY, AND ENERGY  "I would like to emphasize the importance of CJKFTA for responding to rising global protectionism and also promoting international trade and supply chain. If we succeed through the FTA among our three countries, which account for one-fourth of the GDP, we will be able to turn the challenges that we are currently facing into new opportunities."

The establishment of a free trade agreement is seen as one of the important paths to promote economic integration in East Asia.

KAZUYUKI YAMAZAKI, SR. DEPUTY MINISTER JAPANESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS "Japan's determination to exercise leadership as a standard bearer of free and fair trade is unwavering in the multilateral, regional, and bilateral context. First and foremost, multi-lateral free trade order based on the WTO system should be further strengthened, including through its reform."

The three sides agreed that the trilateral FTA is conducive to accelerating economic integration in East Asia, promoting further integration of regional industrial chains and bringing new opportunities to enterprises of the three countries.

LIU YANG BEIJING "A joint declaration issued after a trilateral leaders' meeting in May said they should look to accelerate their FTA negotiations. They said they were looking to reach a comprehensive, high-level and mutually beneficial free-trade agreement. Then, last month, in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the China International Import Expo, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed accelerating the negotiation process even further."

The trilateral talks for a China-Japan-ROK free trade agreement launched in November 2012. This latest round of talks in Beijing is proof the countries are committed to achieving a deal. Liu Yang, CGTN, Beijing.