Leaders of China, Japan and?South Korea?held a trilateral summit in Bali of Indonesia on Saturday to explore ways to further trilateral cooperation and discuss regional and international issues of common concern.

Speaking highly of Japan's role in hosting a trilateral summit in May, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that summit made positive contributions to cooperation among the three nations.

Wen said he would continue to exchange views with the other two leaders on major issues of common concern, and strengthen communication and cooperation among the three sides.

Wen also welcomed the attendance of Shin Bong-kil, the first secretary general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, which was established in Seoul last September as a standing organization.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda thanked the Chinese and South Korean leaders for visiting Fukushima during the trilateral summit last May.

The visit greatly encouraged Fukushima residents and promoted trilateral cooperation in nuclear security and disaster prevention, Noda said.

He said that at Saturday's summit, the three sides would review their cooperation and hold "candid" discussion on the regional and international situation.

Echoing the two leaders' remarks, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said that the three nations have conducted positive cooperation in various areas and made headway in mechanism construction.

As uncertainties in global economy persist, close cooperation among the three nations will not only be conducive to East Asia's stability and development, but also contribute to global economic growth, he said.

Later in the day, the three leaders will also attend the 6th East Asia Summit (EAS), which will also gather leaders from ten ASEAN member states and India, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and the United States.

The EAS will discuss on broad and strategic issues of common concern at the regional and international levels, and ways to enhance and strengthen the cooperation within five priority areas of the EAS, namely finance, energy, education, communicable diseases, and disaster management.

At the summit, the leaders are expected to adopt two declarations as the outcome documents of 6th East Asia Summit, namely, the Declaration of the EAS on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations, and Declaration of the 6th East Asia Summit on ASEAN Connectivity.