By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-31 21:31:36 | Updated at 2025-04-02 09:45:06
1 day ago
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Tokyo recently for the 11th China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting – the first since November 2023. During the visit, he also co-chaired the Sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue with Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
The results were promising: 20 consensus points emerged from the economic dialogue, spanning trade to green development, alongside a commitment to hold a trilateral summit by the end of the year.
Just days earlier, speaking at the 20th Roundtable Japan in Tokyo, I witnessed the palpable momentum for cooperation in East Asia. Our three nations are bound by geography – neighbours who cannot escape one another. This proximity demands that we prioritise our geopolitical relationships, harnessing our collective strengths for mutual benefit.
Our economic interdependence is a cornerstone of regional stability. Last year, China-Japan trade hit US$293 billion – Japan is China’s second-largest trading partner, while China is Japan’s top trading partner and import source, though the second-largest export market after the US. South Korea’s exports to China, its biggest market, rose by 6.6 per cent last year. Investment flows thrive too: Japanese companies bolster China’s manufacturing, while Chinese companies tap South Korea’s tech sectors.
Yet, global trade faces headwinds. The return of US President Donald Trump signals renewed protectionism, with tariff threats and a US-led North American bloc looming.
Wang has stressed that talks on a China-Japan-South Korea free trade agreement should be resumed soon. Building on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which has boosted intraregional exports, such an agreement could leverage Japan’s precision manufacturing, South Korea’s semiconductor prowess and China’s logistical might.
