China, Japan, S.Korea ‘likely to hold leaders’ meeting in late May; US biggest obstacle’

Commenting on the possible resumption of China-Japan-South Korea leaders’ meeting, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China hopes that the three countries will jointly create conditions for the meeting, and is ready to maintain communication with the two neighbors for the meeting’s preparation.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks on Thursday, noting that China attaches importance to the trilateral cooperation.

While expressing anticipation for the potential leaders’ meeting, Chinese observers warned that some challenges among the three neighbors and external obstacles coming from Washington could affect its resumption, citing the political crisis facing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the defeat in parliamentary elections of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ruling party, as well as the deepened aggressive defense ties between the US and Japan.

The Japan News revealed on Wednesday that the three countries have made final arrangements to hold a trilateral meeting in South Korea in late May, likely on May 26 and 27.

It will be the first such meeting in nearly four and a half years, since a December 2019 meeting in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Chinese observers expressed high expectations for the potential leaders’ meeting, as they believe that the three neighbors are the locomotive of economic development in Asia and a meeting will further promote mutual beneficial cooperation among them and play a driving role in the regional and global economies. Observers called on Japan and South Korea to work with China for strengthened cooperation, especially on economy and trade.

If the meeting is held soon, it is expected to promote cooperation in diplomatic coordination, information communication, personnel exchanges, climate change response, and logistics connectivity, Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean Peninsula issue at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.