China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to revive cooperation and facilitate a leaders’ summit, possibly next year, aiming to alleviate regional tensions among the neighboring countries.
In a meeting held in the South Korean port city of Busan on November 26, foreign ministers from the three Asian countries agreed to enhance cooperation in key areas, including security, laying the groundwork for the potential summit.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to meet next year in what could be their first summit in four years.
“The three ministers reaffirmed … to hold the summit, the pinnacle of the trilateral cooperation system, at the earliest, mutually convenient time,” South Korea’s foreign minister, Park Jin, told reporters. “We agreed to expedite the necessary preparations.”
China, Japan and the South Korea on Sunday agreed to create conditions for a leaders' meeting as foreign ministers of the three countries met in the South Korean port city of Busan.https://t.co/KVMMZqUGSX pic.twitter.com/8fweQyQLw9
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China, Japan, South Korea discuss cooperation
During the trilateral meeting, the ministers discussed security cooperation and stressed the need to avoid dividing regional cooperation along ideological lines. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the countries to “oppose ideological demarcation and resist putting regional cooperation into camps”.
The Asia summit, preparations for which began in September, aims in part to address Chinese concerns regarding the growing security ties between Japan, South Korea, and the US. The meeting was the first among foreign ministers since 2019, which took place shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California.
China, South Korea, and Japan, which collectively account for about a quarter of global GDP, agreed to hold annual summits in 2008. However, the meetings were derailed by historical and territorial disputes and the Covid-19 pandemic.
North Korea discussed
North Korea was also on the agenda during Sunday’s 100-minute meeting, especially after Pyongyang successfully launched a spy satellite with banned ballistic missile technology. The ministers condemned the launch and pledged to strengthen their response to deals supplying North Korean munitions for use in Ukraine.
South Korea’s foreign minister, Park Jin, requested China to play a “constructive” role in encouraging North Korea to denuclearize. Despite being North Korea’s main ally and aid donor, doubts persist about China’s ability to influence Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions.