Seoul: The top trade officials from South Korea, China, and Japan convened on Sunday to discuss enhancing trade cooperation among the three nations. This meeting, held in Seoul, marked the first trilateral ministerial gathering in six years amid growing protectionism and tensions in the global trade market.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the 13th Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting included South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and Japanese Trade Minister Yoji Muto. This was the first such meeting since December 2019, which took place in Beijing, and the first in Seoul in a decade. The meeting was a continuation of the summit held by the three countries' leaders in Seoul last year.
In his opening remarks, Minister Ahn emphasized the importance of the meeting given the rapidly changing global economic and trade environment. He called for efforts to create a stable global trade environment by restoring the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and urged cooperation on issues such as new technologies, digital transformation, and supply chain cooperation on critical minerals.
A joint statement released after the meeting highlighted the ministers' support for a rules-based, open, inclusive, transparent, and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. They called for WTO reform to enhance its functions, including negotiations, monitoring, deliberation, and dispute settlement.
The ministers agreed to expedite negotiations for a proposed trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to achieve a high-quality and mutually beneficial agreement while advancing the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP). RCEP, signed by South Korea, China, and Japan, is one of the world's largest free trade agreements, encompassing around 30 percent of global GDP, population, and trade volume.
Additionally, the ministers committed to improving cooperation to create a predictable and reliable business environment, fostering free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, and transparent trade in the region. They also discussed measures to stabilize supply chains and address export control issues.
For sustainable growth, the three countries will collaborate on carbon-free energy technologies and advance digital cooperation. The ministers also discussed cooperation for the upcoming Osaka Expo and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will take place in South Korea's Gyeongju in November and in China next year.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Ahn was scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Minister Muto, following a one-on-one meeting with Minister Wentao on Saturday. The next trilateral economic and trade ministers' meeting will be held in Japan.