Seoul Summit Offers Valuable Momentum for China-Japan-S.Korea Cooperation
GLOBAL TIMES
APLN Vice Chair Chung-in Moon analyzed the outcomes of the China-Japan-South Korea summit and the current regional situation.
The ninth Trilateral Summit Meeting among China, Japan and South Korea was held in Seoul on Monday. In an interview with Global Times (GT) reporters, Moon Chung-in (Moon), James Laney distinguished professor of Yonsei University and former special advisor to president Moon Jae-in for national security and foreign policy, analyzed the outcomes of the summit and the current regional situation. He believes the Seoul summit offered valuable momentum for leaders of China, Japan and South Korea to meet and discuss common concerns.
GT: Chinese Premier Li Qiang put forward a five-point proposal on deepening China-Japan-South Korea cooperation at the summit. What do you think of the five-point proposal?
Moon: Premier Li emphasized long-term common interests and the importance of strategic communication and mutual trust as well as cooperation and common prosperity through a trilateral free trade agreement, science and technology, and human exchanges. He also underscored the enhancement of peace and stability through multilateralism and mutual respect of core interests as well as the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and diplomacy. Finally, he drew attention to the need for strengthened trilateral cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea. Trust-building through communication, strategic empathy, mutual respect of core interests and preventive diplomacy are desperately needed for peace, stability and common prosperity in the region. I hope leaders and people in Japan and South Korea can appreciate his proposals.
GT: The three sides released several joint statements. How do you evaluate the outcome of this summit? Could it become an “important milestone” for restoring mutual trust and strengthening cooperation among the three countries?
Moon: Convening this year’s trilateral summit was a daunting task. It was held after a four-and-a-half-year lapse since the last summit in Chengdu in 2019. Given such a process, I commend leaders from China, Japan and South Korea for their restraint, resilience and commitment. The joint declaration of the summit reveals some important achievements: the institutionalization of trilateral cooperation through the regularization of summit and foreign ministers’ talks, the promotion of human exchanges, especially focusing on future generations, seeking common strategies in coping with challenges of climate change, free trade, public health and an aging society, science and technology as well as digital transformation, and natural disasters, and appealing to peace and stability in Northeast Asia. These achievements are quite significant.
But I wouldn’t say it was an “important milestone.” It can be seen as a modest, but valuable restart for cooperation among the three countries. Moreover, the leaders were short of addressing critical geopolitical and geoeconomic issues facing the region. Trust-building and fuller cooperation will take more time. We need patience. Nevertheless, the Seoul summit offered valuable momentum for the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea to meet and discuss common concerns.
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