• The leaders of China, South Korea, and Japan met in Seoul for a trilateral summit after a 4-year hiatus, aiming to deepen economic cooperation and address regional issues like the Taiwan situation and the U.S.-China tech rivalry.

  • The last three-way top-level meeting was in 2019, with the annual summit initiative disrupted by diplomatic rows and the pandemic. [dw.com]
  • Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged South Korea and Japan to view each other as “partners and opportunities for development,” called for rejecting protectionism and upholding globalization, and emphasized the importance of not politicizing economic and trade issues. [aljazeera.com, scmp.com, reuters, ft.com]
  • Li’s meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol raised hopes for repairing regional economic relations, with plans to launch a diplomatic and security dialogue, resume free trade agreement talks, and adopt a joint cooperation statement. [chinadaily.com.cn, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, reuters, washingtonpost.com, france24.com]
  • China highlighted its rapidly developing relations with South Korea over 30 years, based on mutual respect, openness, and fruitful economic cooperation, with China supporting Samsung’s operations during COVID-19. [chinadaily.com.cn, it.chosun.com]
  • Japan expressed concern over intrusions into its territorial waters, and a military hotline has been established between Japan and China to prevent clashes in the East China Sea. [scmp.com, ft.com]
  • North Korea notified Japan of a planned rocket launch using ballistic missile technology, prompting the U.S., Japan, and South Korea to demand its cancellation. [reuters, france24.com]
  • China expressed willingness to accelerate negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement with openness and called for the comprehensive resumption of trilateral cooperation with transparency. [chinadaily.com.cn, timesofindia.indiatimes.com]
  • The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands remain a point of contention, with China having ships near the disputed islands for a record 158 consecutive days. [scmp.com]
  • Li described the summit as a “new beginning” and urged the countries to promote multilateralism and combat trade protectionism. [france24.com]
  • The leaders intended to sign a joint statement on cooperation in areas like the economy, trade, science, technology, and people-to-people exchanges. [aljazeera.com]

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