China set to strengthen economic ties with Japan, South Korea amid trade row with United States
Premier Li Keqiang says three nations should speed up free-trade talks, as Beijing also seeks to maintain influence on Korean peninsula
China is seeking to expand its influence in East Asia by increasing its engagement with Japan and South Korea ahead of a historic summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June, pundits said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit in Tokyo on Wednesday to discuss economic cooperation among the three regional powerhouses.
The annual summit, which was first held in 2008 but has been repeatedly postponed in recent years due to historical and territorial disputes between the three nations, comes amid an apparent detente on the Korean Peninsula, although North Korea is expected to remain high on the agenda.
Li’s trip will be his first to Japan in an official capacity since taking office in 2012, and the first by a top Chinese leader in nearly eight years.
He is expected to hold talks with Abe on Wednesday afternoon and meet Japanese Emperor Akihito on Thursday, before flying to the northern island of Hokkaido, where he will join a conference with local political leaders.