The foreign ministers of South Korea, China, and Japan will meet in Tokyo on March 22. This will be their first in-person talk in 15 months since the emergency martial law was declared on December 3 last year.
According to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting will include South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yul, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who also serves as the director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi. They will discuss issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and the timing and agenda for the South Korea-China-Japan summit within the year.
While the political turmoil in South Korea, including the impeachment situation, makes it unlikely that any visible agreements on specific issues will be reached at this meeting, comprehensive discussions on how to respond to and cooperate with a potential second Trump administration are expected.
Furthermore, South Korea and China may use this trilateral meeting to hold separate bilateral talks and discuss the possibility of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visiting South Korea. South Korea is actively seeking Xi’s visit, particularly ahead of the November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. Since China will chair the APEC next year, both countries have already agreed to cooperate to host the APEC successfully.
When he met with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Sik in February, Xi expressed interest in visiting Korea. If he does, it would be his first visit to the country since July 2014, his first in 11 years. This visit is expected to lift restrictions on Korean cultural content in China and expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
China has recently signaled a more favorable stance toward South Korea, including allowing 30-day visa-free entry for Korean tourists last year and recently permitting the nationwide release of director Bong Joon Ho’s film, Mickey 17.