Author: Hyonhee Shin and Katya Golubkova
SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a trilateral summit with their South Korean counterpart, the first in more than four years.
The neighbors agreed to hold annual summits starting in 2008 to promote regional cooperation, but bilateral discord and the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted the initiative. Their last trilateral summit was in late 2019.
Seoul officials said South Korean Presidents Yoon Seok-yeol, Li Keqiang and Kishida will issue a joint statement on six areas including economy and trade, science and technology, people-to-people exchanges, health and population aging.
Yin is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Li Keqiang and Kishida on Sunday, followed by a trilateral meeting on Monday.
Kishida also plans to meet with Li Keqiang separately on Sunday, with Kishida expected to raise China’s ban on Japanese seafood imports and Taiwan, among other topics, according to broadcast reports, citing the Japanese government.
In an interview with reporters before leaving for Seoul, Kishida said he would seek “open and frank” discussions and hoped to promote future-oriented pragmatic cooperation by revitalizing the trilateral process.
In his meeting with Li Keqiang, Kishida said he was willing to “firmly determine the direction of a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests and constructive and stable Japan-China relations.”
The summit comes as South Korea and Japan have been trying to repair relations damaged by historical disputes while deepening their trilateral security partnership with the United States amid intensifying competition between China and the United States.
China has previously warned that U.S. efforts to further upgrade ties with South Korea and Japan could exacerbate regional tensions and confrontation.
Seoul and Tokyo warned against any attempts to forcibly change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, while Beijing criticized South Korean and Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday for their decision to attend the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.
Officials and diplomats said the summit may not yield major breakthroughs on sensitive issues, but it may make progress in practical areas of cooperation such as personnel exchanges and consular affairs.
