China, Japan, and South Korea held their first economic dialogue in five years on Sunday, agreeing to enhance regional trade and strengthen supply chain cooperation in response to US President Donald Trump’s looming tariffs.
According to a post on Weibo by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s affiliated social media account, the three countries are set to jointly respond to the US trade measures.
The post further claimed that Japan and South Korea aim to import semiconductor raw materials from China, with China also looking to purchase chip products from both nations.
However, South Korea’s trade ministry quickly downplayed the assertion, stating that the claim of a joint response to US tariffs had been “somewhat exaggerated,” while referencing the joint statement issued after the meeting.
The statement highlighted the countries’ agreement to expedite discussions on a South Korea-Japan-China free trade agreement (FTA) and to continue economic and trade cooperation.
“The three countries exchanged views on the global trade environment, and as you can see in the joint statement, they shared their understanding of the need to continue economic and trade cooperation,” the South Korean trade ministry spokesperson said.
Japan’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment. The dialogue between the three nations took place ahead of President Trump’s anticipated announcement of new tariffs on Wednesday.
Trump has been reshaping US trade relationships, and Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo—major trading partners of the US—have been at odds over several issues, including territorial disputes and Japan’s controversial release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
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