China, South Korea and Japan are talking again – the US should take note

While South Korea and Japan have aligned more closely with the US and even expanded their support for US positions globally, they both inhabit a duality in their foreign policy approaches to China.

Although wary of Beijing’s growing economic and military power, Tokyo and Seoul need to maintain strong trade relations with China as the economic behemoth in the region. China is both Japan and South Korea’s largest trading partner. Many Korean and Japanese companies still see China as a critical market opportunity.

China is also a major market for South Korean chips, a source of tension in the US-South Korea relationship. This high-stakes web of threat and dependence is unlikely to be resolved during the two-day summit in Seoul.

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It seems unlikely that any emerging joint statement will make headway in driving new cooperation among the three parties, save for a modest set of talking points on sustainable development, international exchange and the shared problem of dealing with ageing societies.

What, then, is the significance of holding this trilateral summit if the parties will continue to be divided on the most urgent security issues in the world? The biggest deliverable is the event itself, and that the three countries found it enough to their advantage to meet and talk.

US policymakers should take note of the fact that even Washington’s closest allies seek a reasonably secure relationship with China: Northeast Asia is interconnected, despite the range of security concerns.

Daniel Russel is vice-president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and was a US diplomat for 33 years

Emma Chanlett-Avery is director of