Economic woes push Japan, China, South Korea to restart 3-way summit. TOKYO — A summit among Japan, China and South Korea will address economic and security concerns in East Asia at a time when all three countries face lackluster growth and shrinking populations.
China called for South Korea’s help to maintain stable supply chains as the countries began their first three-way summit with Japan since 2019, with Tokyo and Seoul putting pressure on Beijing by drawing closer to the US on security and industrial policies.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in the South Korean capital Sunday and met separately with President Yoon Suk Yeol. Bilateral discussions were held between Japan and China and a dinner for all three will follow. The formal summit is set for Monday and a session with business leaders will come after that.
After their arrivals in Seoul on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are to hold bilateral talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss ways to promote cooperation and other issues, according to South Korean officials. Li and Kishida are expected to meet bilaterally as well.
When Yoon, Li and Kishida meet for a trilateral session on Monday, they’ll discuss cooperation in six specific areas people-to-people exchanges, climate change, trade, health issues, technology and disaster responses, according to South Korea’s presidential office.
Sensitive topics like North Korea’s nuclear program, China’s claim over self-governed Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea are not among the official agenda items. But some experts say North Korea’s nuclear program which poses a major security threat to South Korea and Japan will likely be discussed among the three leaders though it’s unclear whether and how much they would publicise the contents of their discussions.
The three neighbours are important trading partners to one another, and their cooperation is key to promoting regional peace and prosperity. But they’ve been repeatedly embroiled in bitter disputes over a range of historical and diplomatic issues originating from Japan’s wartime atrocities. China’s rise and a US push reinforce its Asian alliances have also significantly impacted their three-way ties in recent years.
South Korea and Japan are both vibrant democracies and key US military allies in the region, but their ties in past years suffered a huge setback over the issue of Korean forced labourers during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period. Bilateral ties have warmed dramatically since last year, when Yoon took a major step toward moving beyond historical grievances to cope with shared challenges like North Korean nuclear threats, the intensifying Chinese-US rivalry and supply chain vulnerabilities.
