South Korean Ambassador to China, Jung Jae ho, stated on Monday (November 6th) that South Korea, China, and Japan are coordinating and communicating regarding the meeting of their foreign ministers in Busan at the end of November, and are expected to discuss preparations for the trilateral leaders' summit.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Zheng Zaihao told a South Korean delegation of journalists in Beijing on the 6th that, given that the three countries have reached a consensus on holding a leaders' meeting as soon as possible at a convenient time, it is expected that the foreign ministers of the three countries will discuss the specific agenda and topics of the trilateral summit.
Regarding the information about the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting to be held at the end of November, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on October 20th that China, Japan, and South Korea are close neighbors. China believes that conducting trilateral cooperation is in the common interests of the three parties and is maintaining communication on the duration of the meeting.
In September of this year, South Korea, China, and Japan held a Senior Diplomatic Consultation (SOM) in Seoul to reach a consensus on the early resumption of the trilateral leaders' talks. Afterwards, the South Korean government proposed to hold a foreign ministers' meeting in Busan at the end of November to further coordinate summit matters.
The leaders' meeting of China, Japan and the ROK has been suspended since December 2019. At that time, the participants were Li Keqiang, then Premier of the State Council of China, Shinzo Abe, then Prime Minister of Japan, and Moon Jae-in, then President of the ROK. Since then, due to the deterioration of Japan ROK relations and the COVID-19 epidemic, it has not been held for three consecutive years.
Analysts recently told VOA that the efforts of China, Japan, and South Korea to resume diplomatic contacts reflect Beijing's attempt to break through Washington's export restrictions on advanced technology against China, and also demonstrate Seoul and Tokyo's willingness to resume talks with Beijing on some controversial issues.
During President Obama's term, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Russel, told VOA that China hopes to reduce tensions with South Korea and Japan due to concerns about the increasingly warming of Japan South Korea relations, the strengthening of trilateral relations between the United States, Japan, and South Korea, as well as the economic downturn China has encountered since the beginning of this year.
Dennis Wilder, former Senior Director of Asia Pacific Affairs at the White House National Security Council, believes that South Korea and Japan hope to stabilize their relationship with Beijing and maintain close economic relations with China without making strategic concessions.
The relationship between Japan and China has recently reached a freezing point due to the nuclear water disposal incident. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Uekawa stated earlier last month that Japan, China, and South Korea share significant responsibilities for regional peace and prosperity, and Japan will make practical preparations for dialogue. "If the summit or foreign minister meeting is held in the near future, it will become a platform for discussing the direction and methods of cooperation in the new international environment.
In addition, China, Japan, and South Korea held a trilateral meeting of environment ministers in Nagoya, Japan last week. The environment ministers of Japan and China held individual talks, and Japan demanded that China calmly approach the issue of nuclear water treatment based on scientific basis; The Chinese side referred to the treated water as "nuclear contaminated water" and once again expressed opposition to discharging it into the sea.