News outlets have reported that the recently resumed trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China did not reach its expectations.
On May 27th (GMT), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the three countries failed to abandon protectionist trade policies at the summit, only agreeing on the need to maintain communication regarding export control.
This comes as the Biden administration in the U.S. recently launched a massive “tariff bomb” at China. They were unsuccessful despite China’s attempts to pull South Korea and Japan into an opposition front against “trade protectionism,” represented by tariff barriers.
WSJ also pointed out that the three leaders did not reach a clear consensus on Taiwan and North Korea issues. However, WSJ analyzed that it would be difficult for the U.S. to completely block the improvement of relations between South Korea and Japan with China.
In an interview between WSJ and Tongfi Kim, a research professor at the Brussels School of Governance, they mentioned that “South Korea and Japan did not explicitly join hands with China against the U.S.’s tariff increase,” but he interpreted that “The U.S.’s unilateral policy indirectly showed that South Korea and Japan could get closer to China.”
Yorizumi Watanabe, a former Japanese diplomat, also told WSJ, “Japan is actively trying to maintain its traditional supply chain with China.” He added, “Japan shares concerns with the U.S. about supplying advanced semiconductors to China, but it is trying to secure Chinese components without disturbing the U.S.”
The New York Times (NYT) reported that the trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China was overshadowed by tensions between the U.S. and China.
NYT reported that the three leaders discussed supply chain protection, cooperation in response to aging and infectious disease challenges, and trade promotion. NYT added, “The three leaders were highly cautious about regional security issues such as Taiwan and North Korea.”
NYT also emphasized that North Korea’s reconnaissance satellite highlighted the differences of opinion between South Korea, Japan, and China. The satellite was announced a few hours before the start of the summit and launched after the summit.
NYT predicted China would offer increased access to its domestic market to win over Japan and South Korea and weaken U.S. influence.
The Washington Post (WP) evaluated that “The trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China clearly shows China’s desire to interfere with the close alliance between South Korea, U.S., and Japan.”
WP mentioned, “The highlight of the meeting was that while South Korea and China used to have doubts about Japan, this time South Korea and Japan did not hesitate to express their doubts about China’s oppressive actions.”
