“CAMPUS Asia,” which stands for the “Collective Action of Mobility Program of University Students in Asia,” was officially launched at the fifth Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit in 2012 by then leaders of the three countries. By strengthening quality exchanges and cooperation among universities in China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK), as well as facilitating the free flow of students among Asian universities, the program strives to boost the overall international competitiveness of Asian universities, cultivate outstanding Asian talents of the next generation, andcontribute to building and consolidating friendly relations with mutual trust and promoting peace, stability, security and development in Asia.

Following theguidelines of the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit and theTrilateral Cooperation Vision for the Next Decade,CAMPUS Asia was established as a trilateral consortium of universities from the three countries. Through joint training and other collaborative efforts, the program has promoted innovative cooperation such as joint course development, mutual teaching appointment, credit recognition, and degree awarding, contributing to strengthening mutual understanding among students of the three countries, enhancing the competitiveness of universities, and cultivating outstanding next-generation talents in Asia.

Since Mode 1 and Mode 2 of the CAMPUS Asia program, participating institutions have expanded to include the top 40 universities of the three countries, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, and Seoul National University, encompassing disciplines such as engineering, law, medicine, management, medicine, and education. CAMPUS Asia has thus became a flagship program in the field of educational exchanges under the framework of the trilateral cooperation mechanism, carrying the significance of advancing the quality of higher education, innovating the training mode of high-level talents, and promoting regional people-to-people exchanges among the youth.

Entering into the CAMPUS Asia Mode 3, the participating institutions have launched the “China-Japan-ROK +X” model to attract more universities from ASEAN countries to unite Asian civilizations through educational exchanges. In the future, it aims to become the “Erasmus Program” of Asia, with more innovation, higher inclusivity, and better quality.