China urges Japan and South Korea to strengthen trade ties to counter global "chaos"
China's top diplomat has reiterated the country's call for free trade and regional cooperation amid broader "changes and chaos," urging Japan and South Korea to strengthen trust and communication.
After a meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the three countries should strengthen economic integration, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
“[We] all agree that, in the context of an international situation that is intertwined with changes and chaos, as well as the sluggish recovery of the world economy, it is necessary for China, Japan and South Korea to further strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation and provide more stabilising factors for regional peace and development,” Wang said.
“We will uphold multilateralism and free trade, and promote economic globalisation in a more inclusive direction.”
The call followed talks on regional trade and security between Wang, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.
Speaking alongside Wang, Iwaya said the international environment was becoming more “severe” and the world was at a turning point.
“It is more important than ever that we make efforts to overcome division and conflict through dialogue and cooperation,” Japanese news outlet Yomiuri Shimbun quoted Iwaya as saying.
The three ministers also announced that they had agreed to accelerate preparations for a summit between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts later this year.
The three nations also agreed to continue talks on a free-trade agreement, which were revived last year after grinding to a halt in 2019.
On North Korea, Wang stressed that China was willing to work with all stakeholders to promote a political solution.
“The current situation on the Korean peninsula is complex, sensitive, unstable, and with increasing uncertainties,” the Chinese foreign minister said.
“All parties should face up to the root causes of the peninsula issue, meet each other halfway, show goodwill to each other, strive to form positive interactions, and seek the greatest common ground of their respective concerns.”
South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted Cho as saying the three nations “reaffirmed that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is a shared interest and responsibility of the three countries”.
In an apparent reference to Pyongyang’s deployment of troops to help Moscow, Cho also said North Korea should not be rewarded for its “wrongdoings” in the Ukraine war.
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