Japan, China, South Korea meet amid geopolitical ‘turning point in history’
The top diplomats from Japan, China and South Korea met in Tokyo on Saturday, seeking common ground on East Asian security and economic issues amid escalating global uncertainty.
“Given the increasingly severe international situation, I believe we may truly be at a turning point in history,” Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at the start of the meeting in Tokyo with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.
“Our three nations have a combined population of nearly 1.6 billion and an economic output exceeding $24 trillion. With our vast markets and great potential, we can exert significant influence,” Wang said, adding that China wants to resume free trade talks with its neighbours and expand membership of the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The first gathering of the countries’ foreign ministers since 2023 comes as U.S. President Donald Trump upends decades-old alliances, potentially opening the door for China to forge closer ties to countries traditionally aligned with Washington.
Iwaya met separately with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, including the first high-level economic dialogue with Beijing in six years.
A key issue for Tokyo in the talks with Beijing is a ban on Japanese seafood imports imposed by China after the release of wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant from 2023.
Iwaya said he confirmed a commitment by China made in September to allow imports of marine products and also asked about expanding imports of Japanese agricultural products, including beef and rice.
In a joint announcement after the meeting, the three countries agreed to accelerate preparations for a trilateral summit in Japan that would also include talks on how Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul can tackle declining birthrates and ageing populations.
