New Delhi: In a rare show of unity, China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to jointly boost regional trade in an ostensible move to respond to US tariffs.The three countries’ trade ministers held their first economic dialogue in five years at the South Korean capital of Seoul on March 30. The three export behemoths took the decision to facilitate regional and global trade, according to a statement released after the meeting.Japanese economy, trade and industry minister Yoji Muto, Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao and South Korea’s trade, industry and energy minister Ahn Dukgeun met as US President Donald Trump’s tariff imposition and threats have raised concerns globally.“The three countries exchanged views on the global trade environment, and as you can see in the joint statement, they shared their understanding of the need to continue economic and trade cooperation,” the South Korean trade ministry spokesperson said, according to Reuters.“We especially recognized the need for ongoing trilateral economic and trade cooperation to effectively address emerging challenges and achieve tangible outcomes in key areas,” the Korean government’s handout on the meeting said.However, a day ago, Seoul called a post by a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV “somewhat exaggerated.”The post by the Chinese account Yuyuan Tantian said on Weibo that Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul had agreed to deepen cooperation on supply chains and continue negotiations on export controls.Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China, and China is also interested in purchasing chip products from Japan and South Korea, the account added.When Reuters asked a spokesperson for South Korea’s trade ministry about this claim, he said “the suggestion that there was a joint response to U.S. tariffs appears to have been somewhat exaggerated,” and referred to the text of the countries’ joint statement.The Korean statement had also noted that the three nations have vowed talk about speeding up negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement, with a view to realising a “free, fair, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial FTA with its own value.”The three Asian economies account for about 25% of the world’s gross domestic product and 21% of its trade by value. They have not had the best of trading or diplomatic ties among themselves in the recent past.
