SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Leaders of China and Japan arrived in Seoul to meet separately with South Korea’s president on Sunday, a day before they gather for their first trilateral meeting in more than four years.
No major announcement is expected from Monday’s trilateral South Korea-China-Japan meeting. But just resuming their highest-level, three-way talks is a good sign and suggests the three Asian neighbours are intent on improving their relations.
A trilateral leaders’ meeting was supposed to take place annually following their inaugural gathering in 2008. But the meeting has stalled since the last one in December 2019 in Chengdu, China because of the COVID-19 pandemic and complex ties among the three countries.
After their arrivals in Seoul on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are to hold bilateral talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss ways to promote cooperation and other issues, according to South Korean officials. Li and Kishida are expected to meet bilaterally as well.
When Yoon, Li and Kishida meet for a trilateral session on Monday, they’ll discuss cooperation in six specific areas — people-to-people exchanges, climate change, trade, health issues, technology and disaster responses, according to South Korea’s presidential office.
The three neighbours are important trading partners to one another, and their cooperation is key to promoting regional peace and prosperity. They together make up about 25 per cent of global gross domestic product.
Experts say South Korea, China and Japan now share a need to improve ties. South Korea and Japan want better ties with China because it is their biggest trading partner.
Before his departure at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, Kishida said it is “very meaningful” for leaders of the three countries to get together and discuss areas of cooperation among them and other regional and international issues.
South Korean and Chinese officials also expressed hopes that the trilateral meeting would enhance three-way cooperation.