The prospects of a trilateral summit between South Korea, China and Japan, potentially to be held by the end of May, are looking rather uncertain as geopolitical tensions show no signs of abating especially between Beijing and Seoul.Analysts ponder whether the summit, if held, will produce any meaningful results, while calling for a much-needed channel for communication between the major East Asian economies.“From the current international geopolitical situation, the environment for a trilateral summit between China, Japan and South Korea is unfavorable — one might even say dire,” said He Jun, a senior analyst with Anbound, a Beijing-based public policy think tank.The current relationship between China and South Korea is at its lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, he added.
The comments came as South Korea has been actively signaling its intent to revitalize the meeting. Still, China has been unhappy with Seoul’s increasingly outspoken remarks about the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, as well as its expanding security and economic ties with the U.S. and efforts to diversify its economy away from China.“However, even amid adversity, a trilateral summit between the leaders remains necessary. Dialogue is better than no dialogue,” he said, adding that China will not hold the summit in high regard, but that the significance lies in the contact itself between leaders from the three East Asian powers.The three countries are in talks to hold a long-overdue high-level summit likely on May 26 or 27, according to a report by Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun last week.The summit has been suspended since December 2019 when then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and then-Japanese 토토사이트 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met in the Chinese city of Chengdu.