What did the China-Japan-ROK Summit Achieve?
Earlier this week, a trilateral summit brought together South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss a range of regional and global issues. Originating from the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) framework, the meeting, slated to be held annually, was held for the first time since 2019.
All three countries sought to revive trade and security dialogues hampered by global tensions. The Chinese premier called it a “new beginning”, calling for promotion of multilateralism and fighting trade protectionism amid rising tensions following the US decision to hike tariffs on specific Chinese goods this month. Li expressed the need for greater “openness and inclusiveness, to gather more momentum for cooperation, in line with principles of non-exclusivity and non-discrimination, with an open attitude and transparent measures.”
The Japanese side emphasized on the need for people to people exchanges, a sustainable society, increased cooperation with ASEAN and strengthening communication among the nations and the global economic system. The three countries are also a part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Their combined GDP accounts for around 23.4% of global GDP, according to the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS).
The trilateral summit largely focused on non-traditional security threats and steered away from complex strategic concerns, which were addressed during the bilateral meetings. With Kim Jong Un’s announcement of a second spy satellite launch in the backdrop, Japan called for North Korea’s denuclearisation a shared responsibility.
The final joint declaration focused on six main themes - civilian exchanges, climate change, the economy, public health, science, and disaster relief. The year 2025-2026 was designated as the Year of Cultural Exchange among the three countries. To promote sustainable development and bolster their response to climate change, a collaboration with Mongolia was declared to address the challenge of dust and sandstorms in East Asia. In order to strengthen their economic cooperation and trade, they vowed to continue discussions to speed up trilateral FTA negotiations.
In terms of public health and aging societies, the three countries talked about working together to prevent and prepare for future pandemics and diseases. A separate joint statement was adopted in this regard. It was also announced that the Trilateral Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting and ICT Ministers' Meeting will be resumed. Likewise, the Trilateral Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management and Trilateral Counter-Terrorism Consultations will also resume.
On a bilateral level, Li and Yoon agreed to a two-plus-two security and diplomatic dialogue and to resume free trade talks, whereas Kishida and the Chinese premier discussed Taiwan and agreed to hold bilateral high-level economic dialogue.
A key sticking point between Tokyo and Beijing is the release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. After Japan released the water in 2023, China suspended the import of all marine products, including edible seafood. The talks did not seem to make any headway in resolving this issue. However, both sides did agree on working level communication by experts on Taiwan, given the large-scale military drills China conducted recently. Kishida reiterated that peace and prosperity around the Taiwan Strait is important for Japan and the international community while Li assured him that the Taiwan issue was Beijing's core interest.
Through this summit, China is widely believed to be responding to another pivotal moment of trans-regional cooperation, i.e., a trilateral summit between the US, Japan and South Korea at Camp David last year. The Chinese premier talked about deepening economic and trade connectivity, stressing the need to keep industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded. Amid the deepening tech competition with the US, China understands the impact de-risking is likely to have on its economy. Moreover, it desires to woo foreign investment back into the country. This summit can be seen as Beijing’s efforts to counteract US influence with Tokyo and Seoul. It could also be viewed as a balancing act by the two American allies amid economic and military competition between the US and China.
Even though officials and observers alike had low expectations regarding the tangible outcomes that could be achieved at the summit, it was still seen as a political and diplomatic win to get the parties at the same negotiating table. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who hosted the summit this year and pushed for months to make it happen, was quoted as saying “issues that are difficult to resolve bilaterally may also be addressed through trilateral cooperation. Furthermore, we hope that our three countries will unite to address global challenges together." What these issues might be and how much of that hope we can hold onto remains to be seen in this highly uncertain regional and international atmosphere.
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