Nikkei: "Korea-China-Japan Summit Meeting to be Held in Seoul on 26-27"

After 4 and a half years... South Korea-Japan and China-Japan summit meetings also being coordinated

According to a report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 8th, South Korea, China, and Japan have entered the final coordination stage regarding holding a trilateral summit in Seoul on the 26th and 27th of this month.

The summit is expected to be attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Although it is a summit meeting, China has traditionally sent the sitting Premier instead of the State President since the first Korea-China-Japan summit in 2008. Separately from the trilateral summit, a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea is also being pursued. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coordination is underway to hold separate Korea-Japan and China-Japan summits as well.

Earlier, on the 4th, Prime Minister Kishida stated at a press conference held in S?o Paulo, Brazil, during his South America tour, "The three countries are continuing to coordinate for the holding of the summit and other meetings."

If held this time, the trilateral summit will take place again after about four and a half years. Although the principle was to hold it alternately once a year, it was suspended after the summit held in Chengdu, China, in December 2019 due to the deterioration of Korea-Japan relations and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nikkei explained that President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida, in addition to improving Korea-Japan relations, have formed a consensus that trilateral cooperation is essential for stability in the Northeast Asian region, leading to the resumption of the summit.

Major agenda items are expected to include economic cooperation and security. Concerns over North Korea's nuclear missile development are also likely to be shared. Issues such as human exchanges, trade, science and technology, and climate change are expected to be specified, Nikkei reported.

So far, China has been strengthening its military power while advancing maritime presence in the South and East China Seas. Korea and Japan are expected to raise these issues at the summit. China, viewing the strengthening of the Korea-Japan and U.S. security alliance as an encirclement strategy against itself, may also mention this.

Nikkei stated, "For China, which is wary of the strengthening of Korea-U.S.-Japan relations, the Korea-China-Japan meeting could be an opportunity to drive a wedge into the U.S.-led containment of China in terms of economy and security," adding, "Improvement in relations with Korea and Japan is also expected to lead to the recovery of the Chinese economy, which has stagnated since COVID-19."