Flag of China, Japan, and South Korea. Photo: VCG

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Japan on Friday to attend the 11th China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting to be held in Tokyo on Saturday and during the visit, he will co-chair with Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya the Sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue. 

The trilateral meeting marks the first such meeting in two years since the last one took place in the South Korean port city of Busan in November 2023.

At a meeting in Tokyo hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with the foreign ministers of China, Japan, and South Korea on Friday, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stated that China-Japan-ROK cooperation, with its early start, numerous achievements, and vast potential, has played a significant role in enhancing mutual understanding and promoting mutually beneficial collaboration among the three nations. China attaches great importance to this trilateral cooperation and is confident in its prospects.

Wang emphasized that strong China-Japan-ROK relations provide an additional safeguard for regional peace and stability. Deepened cooperation among the three countries enables regional nations to better address various external challenges.

Chinese experts believe that the Tokyo meetings are a pivotal moment for the three nations to strengthen their cooperation. They anticipate significant progress in areas such as trade, economic development, and people-to-people exchanges. Besides, in an increasingly complex global environment, the continued warming of trilateral relations is seen as profoundly significant for promoting peace and stability in East Asia.

Window for cooperation

In response to a question on China's expectations of those meetings, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on Friday that China, Japan and the South Korea are close neighbors that will always live with each other and are important economies in the region and the world.

Mao said that since the Ninth China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting in May last year, practical cooperation among the three countries in various fields has been advancing steadily and made positive progress.

In May 2024, leaders of the three countries had in-depth exchanges at the ninth trilateral summit in Seoul, yielding abundant results on deepening cooperation in various fields.

"China stands ready to work with Japan and the ROK to follow through on the leaders' common understandings, advance cooperation in areas of cultural and people-to-people exchange, sustainable development and climate change, economic cooperation and trade, public health and aging society, sci-tech cooperation and digital transition, and disaster relief and security, expand converging interests, make the pie of cooperation bigger, deliver more benefit of the trilateral cooperation to the peoples of the three countries, and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the wider world," Mao said. 

Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, explained that the foreign ministers' meeting is expected to address most facets of China-Japan-ROK cooperation. This will help implement the consensus reached at the May 2024 leaders' summit and sustain the momentum of revitalizing and deepening trilateral ties. 

Xiang added that the meeting also serves as a platform for political preparation and coordination ahead of a possible leaders' summit. According to Japanese news outlet NHK, senior diplomats will also aim to agree on arranging a trilateral summit by the end of the year.

Xiang emphasized that the meeting represents a key window for advancing trilateral cooperation. The expert highlighted that China, Japan, and South Korea—major economic powers affected by US tariffs—could reach a principled agreement on maintaining supply chain stability and opposing trade protectionism and tariff barriers. 

He also identified people-to-people exchanges as a core focus, noting that the 2024 joint declaration from the ninth trilateral summit designated 2025-2026 as the "Year of Cultural Exchange" among the three nations.

After China granted unilateral visa-free entry to travelers from South Korea and Japan and extended stays to 30 days, South Korea said on Thursday it would offer a visa exemption to Chinese visitors in the third quarter of the year to boost tourism, per Reuters.

Xiang remarked that the three countries aim to scale up trilateral tourism and cooperation, adding, "Expanding people-to-people exchanges can enhance public sentiment and build a social foundation for the stable, healthy development of trilateral relations."

Opportunities and challenges

Ahead of the ministerial meeting on Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met in Tokyo with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday. According to CCTV News, Wang conveyed greetings from the Chinese leader to Ishiba and noted that since his inauguration, China and Japan have resumed the process of improving bilateral relations. 

Wang emphasized that as two countries of significant influence, China and Japan share a common mission to work together for a better future for Asia. In the face of a turbulent international landscape and growing global challenges, the two sides should enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation to contribute greater stability and certainty to the world, according to CCTV.

According to a statement released by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, Prime Minister Ishiba, speaking at a reception for the ministers, emphasized that China and South Korea are vital neighboring countries to Japan. He claimed that although difficult problems sometimes arise, Japan hopes to engage in dialogues including on issues of concern and build a "future-oriented cooperative relationship" with the two neighbors. 

Lü Chao, an expert on East Asian studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said that Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Japan is undoubtedly a promising start and offers an opportunity to improve relations, though challenges persist. 

He cautioned that while cooperation is a priority, political and security differences between China and Japan cannot be overlooked. Lü specifically cited Japan's recent assertion that the 1972 China-Japan Joint Statement is "not legally binding" and it does not restrict local councilors' activities in Taiwan.

During the meeting with Ishiba, Wang Yi said that Japanese side should adhere to the principles established in the four political documents, including the China-Japan Joint Statement, safeguard the political and legal foundation of bilateral relations, and earnestly fulfill the significant political commitments made regarding historical issues and the Taiwan question, according to CCTV.

Earlier this week, Iwaya named the issue of fishery products imports as an important topic to be discussed with China, which banned Japanese seafood imports in 2023 after Japan began releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima plant, according to Japanese media reports.

Lü argued that while the three countries have high hopes for the cooperation framework, for now, the ball is in Japan's court.

"Resolving issues like the seafood import ban tied to Japan's nuclear-contaminated wastewater discharge hinges entirely on Japan's sincerity," he said.

Prior to the dinner, Wang met with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul in Tokyo. 

Xiang noted that major diplomatic events in East Asia, such as the upcoming trilateral ministerial meeting in Tokyo, South Korea's hosting of the APEC summit in 2025, and China's hosting of the APEC summit in 2026, provide opportunities for trilateral coordination and cooperation. 

Injecting stability

The trilateral meeting also takes place ahead of the US administration's imposition of tariffs on imported cars from Japan and South Korea, set to take effect on April 2.

Amid the US government's growing estrangement and pressure on its allies, Japan and South Korea have increasingly seen the need to strengthen ties with China to offset their reliance on US-centric policies in recent years, Xiang said.

Over the past few years, the previous Biden administration has advanced its "Indo-Pacific strategy," promoting decoupling on supply chains while fostering cliques with allies, which have heightened the risk of a "new Cold War" in the Asia-Pacific region, Xiang said. 

Xiang emphasized that China-Japan-ROK cooperation offers a vital platform to counter this narrative, dismantle bloc confrontation, and rebuild regional consensus on trade and technology, thus advancing regional integration. He described the trilateral partnership as a "stabilizer" for regional peace.

Lü added that, as East Asia's three largest economies, China, Japan, and South Korea serve as engines driving economic recovery and development in the region and even globally. 

Furthermore, this partnership sends a positive signal across East Asia, including ASEAN members and beyond, the expert added.