Why Japan and South Korea are rediscovering China

TOKYO – The most important thing about this week’s trilateral summit between China, Japan and South Korea is that it happened at all.

It hardly matters that Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sidestepped a dearth of contentious topics keeping their governments apart since 2019. They include North Korea, Taiwan and export controls.

Nor does it matter that the leaders opted to focus instead on vague chatter about free trade deals, protecting supply chains, adjusting to aging populations and cooperating on infectious diseases. The important thing is that Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul are talking.

It will take much more than talk, of course.