China, Japan and South Korea leaders’ meeting resumes: What to watch? What will it bring? , depth | more than four years later

From May 26 to 27, the ninth China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting was held in Seoul, South Korea. Four years and five months have passed since the last meeting.

Analysts pointed out that in the context of the complex and severe situation in Northeast Asia, where cooperation and confrontation, multilateral and unilateral, openness and closure and other forces continue to compete, China, Japan and South Korea can once again "shake hands" and send a positive signal. Although the relations between the three countries are still facing tests, the three countries are willing and necessary to establish a closer and stable cooperative relationship, work together to deal with various problems and challenges, and find a path of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between neighboring countries.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Japan-ROK cooperation mechanism. Twenty-five years ago, the trilateral leaders' meeting started as a dialogue framework between ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea, aiming to lead the planning of trilateral cooperation and jointly respond to the cold wave of the Asian financial crisis.

Over the years, trilateral cooperation has advanced amidst twists and turns, forming a complete cooperation system with the leaders' meeting as the core and supported by more than 20 ministerial meetings and more than 70 working-level mechanisms. It has gradually become the most institutionalized and most institutionalized system in East Asia. The multilateral cooperation framework with the widest coverage and richest connotations.

Now, standing at a new historical juncture, the trilateral leaders' meeting has resumed for the first time since December 2019, attracting attention from the outside world and attracting expectations from all parties.

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China hopes that this meeting will inject new momentum into the cooperation among the three countries and better achieve mutual benefit and win-win results among the three countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed on the 24th that he hopes to promote practical cooperation among the three countries in various fields through candid discussions.

The South Korean Presidential Office stated on the 23rd that it hoped that this meeting would become a "turning point for the comprehensive restoration and normalization" of the trilateral cooperation system.

Professor Lu Chao, Dean of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, pointed out that the China-Japan-ROK leaders’ meeting was restarted against the background of the turbulent international situation and the continuous contest between cooperation and confrontation, multilateral and unilateral, openness and closedness, etc. , itself is a positive development and a powerful counterattack. This is inseparable from the continued role of the trilateral cooperation mechanism and the common desire for cooperation among the three countries.

In recent years, "Although there are still disputes between China, Japan and South Korea, the trilateral cooperation mechanism is still functioning and has put forward the solution principle of 'friendly consultation, temporary shelving of disputes, and seeking common ground while reserving differences' during its operation." Lu Chao pointed out that problems found , the process of solving problems is the embodiment of the role of the three-country cooperation mechanism.

At the same time, the three countries have close economic and trade relations. China is South Korea and Japan's largest trading partner and largest export market. South Korea and Japan are China's third largest and fifth largest trading partners respectively.

"Strengthening cooperation is in the common interests of the three countries and remains the common aspiration and mainstream voice of the three countries." Lu Chao pointed out that despite various adversities, practical cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea in many fields such as economy, trade, and people-to-people exchanges has never been interrupted. Under the guidance of the host country South Korea, the restoration of the cooperation mechanism between China, Japan and South Korea is of great significance for promoting closer and pragmatic cooperative relations among the three countries, promoting regional openness and development, and promoting regional and world peace and stability.

This is Premier Li Qiang’s first visit to South Korea since he took office last year, and it is also the first time a Chinese Prime Minister has visited South Korea in nine years since 2015.

On the afternoon of the 26th, Li Qiang held bilateral talks with South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida respectively. On the 27th, the three countries will hold their ninth leadership meeting. According to South Korea, the meeting will focus on cooperation in six major areas, including personnel exchanges, sustainable development, economic and trade cooperation, health and aging, digital transformation, disaster relief and security. After the meeting, the three parties will issue a joint statement. The leaders of the three countries will also jointly attend the China-Japan-ROK Business Summit.

Based on multiple sources, the three parties are expected to confirm the importance of expanding free trade and cooperation to stabilize supply chains, and may discuss optimizing visa policies, improving transparency in food and resource supply chains, utilizing digital technology, protecting intellectual property rights, and strengthening support for start-ups. question.

Lu Chao believes that there are many interesting things to see in this meeting, from the format to the topics.

Formally, there will be bilateral dialogues between China and South Korea, China and Japan, and Japan and South Korea, followed by trilateral talks between China, Japan and South Korea. Bilateral dialogue will help the leaders of the two countries communicate directly and individually on topics of mutual concern, and will create a good start for the resumption of trilateral talks.

On the topic, the leaders of the three countries will communicate at a strategic level, plan the cooperation layout after the restart of the trilateral cooperation mechanism, and lead the overall direction of cooperation. The three parties may discuss issues such as accelerating negotiations on the trilateral free trade area on the basis of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and leveraging China's logistics advantages to further promote logistics cooperation.

"The economies of the three countries are highly complementary and interdependent, and are expected to form new growth points for cooperation, thereby realizing 111>3." Lu Chao pointed out.

In addition, in view of the current difficulties and contradictions, Lu Chao believes that China, Japan and South Korea can draw lessons from past cooperation, and it is necessary to emphasize the principles of friendly consultation, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and step-by-step operating principles. In an advanced way, we can promote the cooperation among the three countries to operate effectively as soon as possible.

"The three countries can speed up cooperation on projects that are highly complementary, quick-acting, and urgently needed by the people." Lu Chao pointed out that financial services, tourism, cross-border elderly care and medical care, disaster reduction and eradication of extreme poverty, as well as agriculture, fishery, and the Arctic fields, etc. All of them need to be carried out as a priority within the framework of trilateral cooperation.

From a broader perspective, this is an important meeting in a contradictory context.

"Currently, the situation in Northeast Asia is complex and severe, facing two international backgrounds." Lu Chao pointed out that on the one hand, regional security risks are rising, geopolitical divisions are intensifying, and the risk of major power confrontation is increasing; the relations between China, Japan and South Korea are facing multiple challenges. On the other hand, with the holding of last year's China-US presidents' meeting, China-Japan leaders' talks, and this month's meeting between China and South Korea's foreign ministers in Beijing, there are some signs of easing in the regional situation.

At this sensitive juncture, what will the renewed cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea bring to the world?

Lu Chao believes that the smooth development of China-Japan-ROK cooperation will have an important impact and inspiration on regional and global cooperation, development, and stability, which can be summarized by keywords such as "leader", "pressure reducing valve" and "promoter".

Economically, although the trilateral cooperation originated from the ASEAN framework, it is regarded as the "leader" in East Asia cooperation. It is inclusive of all-round cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries. This will have a radiating effect on other cooperation mechanisms around the world and stimulate regional and global economic recovery.

In terms of security, friendly consultations between the three countries can act as a "pressure reducing valve" for regional hot issues. Against the background of the protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict between Palestine and Israel, the security situation in Northeast Asia has attracted attention. China, Japan and South Korea show goodwill to each other and maintain cooperation, which is in line with the common aspirations of neighboring and Asia-Pacific countries for peaceful development.

Culturally, the three countries share similar cultural backgrounds and geographical proximity, and are expected to become a hub for international cultural exchanges, a model for friendly people-to-people exchanges, and a bridge for mutual learning among civilizations.

In terms of global governance, "At present, the global governance mechanism dominated by the West is gradually unable to adapt to the rapid changes in the international economic, trade and financial landscape, and to meet the needs of the rapid emergence of new business forms and new models in the international economy." Lu Chao pointed out that China, Japan and South Korea have It is necessary and capable to take advantage of its increasingly important position in the global economic landscape to jointly promote the reform and improvement of multilateral governance mechanisms and jointly guide economic globalization in a more open, inclusive, universally beneficial, balanced and win-win direction.

Looking back over the past 25 years, China, Japan and South Korea have jointly explored a path of mutually beneficial cooperation between neighboring countries. Looking to the future, in the short term, trilateral cooperation will not be easy. But in the long run, if all three parties can adopt the attitude of "facing history and opening up the future", turning competition into coordination, confrontation into cooperation, and isolation into openness, people have reason to believe that the path of China, Japan and South Korea will be It gets wider and wider as you go.