China, Japan, South Korea Pledge Increased Cooperation

Facts

• Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean Pres. Yoon Suk Yeol have agreed to work more closely in a wide range of areas, including economics and trade.¹
• During a trilateral summit in Seoul on Monday, they pledged to hold three-way talks regularly, boost the number of people-to-people exchanges, and join efforts to fight climate change.²
• They also agreed to revive negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement — which have been suspended since the pandemic — within the framework of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.³
• Additionally, the trio reaffirmed their commitment to promote peace, stability, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, reiterating the importance of denuclearization and political resolution of the Korean issue.⁴
• Briefly eclipsed by Pyongyang's apparent bid to place its second spy satellite into orbit, the first trilateral meeting in over four years happened as China has been protesting an increase in security cooperation among Japan, South Korea, and the US.⁵
• Strategic competition between Beijing and Washington has reportedly intensified since the previous three-way summit — affecting relations between the PRC and the two US allies in East Asia.⁶

Sources: ¹The Japan Times, ²Reuters, ³Yonhap News Agency, ⁴XINHUA, ⁵Associated Press and ⁶New York Times.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Globaltimes. It's crystal clear that America wants to use both Japan and South Korea as proxies to advance its hegemonic ambitions to counter China, so Japan and South Korea's leaders must not fall into a trap that will bring instability and chaos to East Asia. Seoul and Tokyo must act according to their national interests and accelerate cooperation with Beijing.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Under pressure from the West, Beijing has no alternative other than to restore trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea. And as China remains their largest trading partner, the two major US allies in the Asia-Pacific can't just ditch it. Yet, this is no cause for alarm, as even Washington has worked to stabilize ties with the PRC.

Predictions