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Seoul: Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Seoul on Sunday (May 26) to attend Held trilateral summit with foreign ministers of South Korea and JapanThis is the first meeting between the three parties in more than four years.
The neighbors have agreed to hold annual summits since 2008 to promote regional cooperation, but the initiative has been disrupted by bilateral disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic. They last held a trilateral summit in late 2019.
Seoul officials said South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Li Keqiang will issue a joint statement on six areas including economy and trade, science and technology, cultural exchanges, health and population aging.
Yoon is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Li Keqiang and Kishida Fumio on Sunday, followed by a trilateral meeting on Monday.
NHK, citing the Japanese government, reported that Kishida is also expected to have a separate meeting with Li Keqiang on Sunday, during which he will raise China’s ban on Japanese seafood imports and the Taiwan issue.
The summit comes as U.S.-China competition intensifies, with South Korea and Japan working to repair ties fractured by historical disputes while deepening their trilateral security partnership with the United States.
China has previously warned that U.S. efforts to further elevate ties with South Korea and Japan could exacerbate regional tensions and confrontation.
Seoul and Tokyo warned against any attempt to forcibly change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, while Beijing on Tuesday criticized South Korean and Japanese lawmakers for deciding to participate in Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration ceremony.
Officials and diplomats said the summit might not produce major breakthroughs on sensitive issues, but it could yield progress in practical areas of cooperation such as people-to-people exchanges and consular affairs.
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