China’s premier praised what he called a reset in relations with Japan and South Korea as he met their leaders on Monday for the rare summit in almost five years.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul. The meeting was aimed at discussing efforts to revitalise trilateral talks on a free trade agreement, which have been stalled since 2019.
Opening the rare summit, Li said the talks are “both a restart and a new beginning” and called for a comprehensive resumption of co-operation among East Asian economic powers.
But this requires separating politics from economic and trade issues, he added, calling for an end to protectionism and the sharing of supply chains. Li also said:
For China, South Korea, and Japan, our close ties will not change, the spirit of co-operation achieved through crisis response will not change and our mission to safeguard regional peace and stability will not change.
China and US-backed South Korea and Japan are grappling with mutual distrust amid rivalry between Beijing and Washington, tensions over democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Towards rapprochement between countries
Yoon and Kishida charted a course for rapprochement with each other and with Washington, launching an unprecedented trilateral co-operation with the US on military and other measures.
US President Joe Biden has raised barriers to Chinese imports by increasing tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, including electric vehicle (EV) batteries and computer chips. Donald Trump, his rival in November’s presidential election, has proposed imposing tariffs of 60 per cent or more on all Chinese goods.
On North Korea, Yoon and Kishida urged Pyongyang not to carry out a planned rocket launch of a space satellite, which they said uses ballistic missile technology banned by UN Security Council resolutions.
Li urged all sides to exercise restraint and prevent further complications on the Korean Peninsula. China is North Korea’s only military ally and its largest trading partner, and along with Russia, it has called for an easing of UN sanctions against North Korea.
Over the past decade, trade relations between China, South Korea and Japan have become increasingly competitive.
The leaders also took part in a forum with CEOs from the three countries, who noted that co-operation has not reached its potential due to global challenges, but agreed that industry will work together to support trade and stabilise supply chains.
