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The leaders of South Korea, China and Japan will hold their first trilateral talks since 2019 in Seoul next Monday, South Korea’s public news agency Yonhap reported yesterday.
Yonhap News Agency said South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will attend the trilateral summit. Other South Korean media confirmed the news, citing the country’s president.
The first trilateral summit was held in 2008, with the three Asian countries agreeing to hold annual leaders’ meetings. This has not happened since 2019, largely due to restrictions imposed by China due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Efforts to boost cooperation among Asia’s neighbors face obstacles such as historical disputes over Japan’s occupation during World War II and strategic competition between Seoul and Tokyo’s allies China and the United States.
On May 14, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-woo visited Beijing and met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who expressed regret for the “difficulties and challenges” affecting relations between the two countries.
Wang noted that there is “no fundamental conflict of interests” between the two countries and stressed the importance of maintaining “regular exchanges” between the two neighbors.
The same note said Cho Tae-yeol expressed hope that the visit would be an “important step” in South Korea-China relations. The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on trilateral cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea.
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