As the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its support for holding the Korea-China-Japan summit within the year, the ‘high-level Korea-China-Japan process’ recently mentioned by the leaders of Korea and Japan is expected to begin in earnest.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing on the 20th, “China has consistently and actively participated in trilateral cooperation. I want to communicate and coordinate with Korea and Japan about this.”
If the annual Korea-China-Japan summit is to be held in Korea this year in turn, it is likely that recently elected Prime Minister Li Chang will visit Korea. In China, prime ministers often represent China at multilateral summits.
China’s position can be interpreted as a willingness to check the structure at a time when the US’s check on China is in full swing and cooperation between Korea, the US and Japan is being strengthened.
The Korea-China-Japan summit has been held a total of eight times since December 2008 under the Lee Myung-bak administration.
If this year’s summit comes to fruition, it will serve as an opportunity to ease competition between the US and China as well as in Northeast Asia and discuss China’s role in North Korea’s recently intensifying nuclear and missile provocations.
Diplomats believe that it will also help to promote people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation at a time when economic vitality between Korea and China and Japan has declined, as South Korea posted a trade deficit of billions of dollars with China in January this year.
In addition, there may be more room for communication about economic regulation issues tangled between the US and China, such as restrictions on factories in China by Korean companies under the US Semiconductor Support Act.
However, Chinese state media, the Global Times, quoted an expert interview about the Korea-Japan summit saying, “It will contribute to the US Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China by promoting the formation of an Asian version of NATO and Chip 4 alliance.” Voices are raised against inter-Korean cooperation.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.