The China-Japan-ROK Foreign Ministers' Meeting was recently held in Seoul, South Korea, marking the first meeting between the foreign ministers of the three countries in three years. At a time when China-Japan and China-ROK relations are facing difficulties, it is worth paying attention to what is the significance of this meeting and whether it can bring about an improvement in the relations between the three countries.
To understand the importance of this meeting, it is necessary to look at the reality of the situation in China's neighborhood.
Signal 1: The trilateral cooperation mechanism is back on track, and bilateral cooperation is promoted multilaterally.
The meeting took place against a special background: trilateral cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK is being fully restored.
In July this year, the Trilateral International Forum on Cooperation was held in person for the first time after the pandemic, demonstrating the determination of the trilateral cooperation to start anew. Since then, the top diplomats of the three countries have maintained a steady frequency of exchanges, meeting every two months.
During these exchanges, the three countries expressed their willingness to improve relations and restart cooperation.
But if we look only at the bilateral side, the recovery of China-Japan-ROK relations has not been smooth. Since the last three-country meeting, many new problems have arisen.
Therefore, it is very necessary to hold a trilateral meeting to give China, Japan and the ROK the opportunity and time to sit down and communicate.
Prior to the trilateral meeting, China and Japan, China and South Korea, Japan and South Korea all held bilateral meetings, which, judging by the press releases of the parties, mainly discussed their differences and disputes:
China and South Korea discussed the issue of nuclear wastewater, the Taiwan issue, and the situation on the peninsula China and South Korea, and discussed the issue of the industrial chain and the situation on the peninsula.
These bilateral meetings have been longer than expected, demonstrating that the three countries are seriously seeking solutions to their problems.
Taking the issue of nuclear sewage as an example, this is the question that the Japanese side has been asked the most in the past month at China's most important press conference. After this meeting, China and Japan reached an agreement to establish an expert-level consultation mechanism to find constructive solutions to problems through consultation and dialogue.
In the future, China, Japan, and the ROK will continue to promote the holding of the trilateral summit.
China-Japan-ROK cooperation has been launched for more than 20 years and has formed a mature mechanism. With such a stable framework, multilateral cooperation can lead to improved bilateral relations.
Signal 2: Japan and South Korea view the trilateral cooperation mechanism from a strategic perspective.
To ensure that the trilateral cooperation mechanism can bring stability to China-Japan-South Korea relations, it will depend on how Japan and South Korea position the mechanism.
On the Japanese side, the meeting was attended by Yoko Uekawa, the new foreign minister who has just taken office. At the press conference before her departure, she expounded Japan's views on the trilateral cooperation mechanism
The international community is at a turning point in history, and the Japanese side hopes to hold discussions based on the strategic significance and overall situation of trilateral cooperation.
This shows that Japan is strategically guiding the development of trilateral cooperation from the perspective of the next few decades.
What is this strategy? It can be seen from a sentence mentioned in the press releases of Japan and South Korea in this meeting:
China-Japan-ROK cooperation can go beyond Northeast Asia and play a positive role in peace and prosperity in the region and the world.
China, Japan, and South Korea, which account for one-fifth of the world's population and one-quarter of the world's GDP, can play an important role in the Asia-Pacific region on security and economic issues. At the same time, these collaborations will also provide opportunities for the pressing issues facing Japan and South Korea today.
For Japan, the International Monetary Organization, Japan's nominal GDP will fall by 0 percent year-on-year this year2%, falling from third to fourth place in the world. The China-Japan-Korea FTA mentioned at this meeting, according to the profession, will increase Japan's GDP by 01 to 05%。
As for South Korea, the security environment around it is more tense than that of China and Japan, and this also requires consultation and cooperation among Northeast Asian countries.
In addition, South Korea is also the current rotating chair of the China-Japan-South Korea cooperation mechanism.
In 2019, after South Korea took over the rotating presidency from China, the trilateral cooperation fell into a four-year stagnation due to the pandemic and changes in bilateral and multilateral relations between China, Japan and South Korea. Against this backdrop, there has been an opportunity to reopen this year, and South Korea has been very positive.
On some future issues, South Korea proposed earlier and more specifically than China and Japan.
As the most influential sub-regional cooperation mechanism in Asia, trilateral cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK serves the common interests of the three countries and the common needs of the region.
Signal 3: The three countries cooperate in efforts to get rid of extraterritorial interference.
Although they share the same intentions, Japan and South Korea, as two important allies of the United States in East Asia, are also influenced by the United States in their sincerity toward China.
The meeting identified six specific areas of future cooperation:
People-to-people exchanges, science and technology, sustainable development, public health, economy and trade, security.
It is worth noting that half of these fields are areas in which the United States wants to win over Japan and South Korea to form an encirclement of China.
This reflects a changing trend, in the face of US interference, Japan and South Korea are shifting from passive cooperation at the beginning to actively seeking to expand cooperation with China.
Especially in the field of chips, due to the export control measures of the United States, in the past month, Japan, South Korea and related technology companies have been considering ways to circumvent them.
On the Japanese side, in the middle of this month, China and Japan established an export control dialogue mechanism, and one of the core goals is to maintain the stability of the industrial chain.
Not long ago, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into saying that South Korea is also helping U.S. semiconductor companies circumvent U.S. export controls and cooperate in exporting semiconductor equipment to China.
It is foreseeable that the resistance of the United States and the cooperation efforts of China, Japan, and South Korea will continue to be confrontational for some time to come.
For Japan and South Korea, only by being clear about their core interests can they make the right choice. This meeting is a case in point.