Chinese Premier Li Qiang hails 'restart' in relations with Japan and South Korea

Chinese Premier Li Qiang hailed what he called a "restart" in relations with Japan and South Korea as he met with their leaders on Monday for the first three-way discussions in four years, intending to revivetrade and security exchanges stalled by global tension.

According to Seoul officials, Li, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will issue a joint statement on six issues, including the economy and trade, science and technology, people-to-people exchanges, health, and the aging population. Japanese media stated that they may also agree to restart talks on a three-party free trade agreement (FTA) that has been deadlocked since 2019.

Li urged for a thorough resumption of trilateral cooperation with an open and transparent attitude at the summit, according to China's official Xinhua news agency. He remarked on the three countries' consistent relations in the face of considerable global change. "Our meeting today, the first in more than four years, is both a restart and a new beginning," Li said, according to a post on X by China's foreign ministry.

China, along with US allies South Korea and Japan, is attempting to manage developing hostility amid rivalries between Beijing and Washington, as well as tensions over Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

Yoon and Kishida have recently deepened connections with each other and with Washington, embarking on unprecedented three-way cooperation with the US on military and other issues. The summit comes after the leaders conducted bilateral talks on Sunday.

During the bilateral discussions, Li and Yoon agreed to continue diplomatic and security dialogue, as well as free trade talks, while Kishida and Li discussed Taiwan and decided to hold a fresh round of bilateral high-level economic dialogue. Yoon also asked China to play a constructive role in confronting North Korea's growing nuclear and missile capabilities, despite UN Security Council resolutions. The Japan Coast Guard announced on Monday that North Korea intends to launch a rocket carrying a space satellite between May 27 and June 4.

In response to the notice, officials from the United States, Japan, and South Korea called each other and urged that North Korea postpone the launch, which they claimed would deploy ballistic missile technology in violation of UN resolutions, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. China, South Korea, and Japan's economic partnerships have grown more competitive during the last decade.

These connections have been stretched further by the United States' desire for its allies to transfer supply chains for crucial products, such as semiconductors, away from China. Officials and diplomats from South Korea and Japan have set a low standard for the summit, expressing concern about major announcements but underlining that simply gathering will help renew and rejuvenate their frayed ties. The three leaders are also set to attend a meeting with leading business executives.

Since 2012, South Korea, Japan, and China have undertaken 16 rounds of official negotiations on a three-way free trade agreement. At their most recent meeting in November 2019, the three countries agreed on a level of liberalisation greater than that of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), of which they are all members, encompassing areas such as trade in goods and services, investment, customs, competition, and e-commerce.

(With inputs from Reuters)