China Japan South Korea will jointly respond to US tariffs Chinese state media says

BEIJING – China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to jointly respond to US tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on March 31.

The comments came after the three countries held their first economic dialogue in five years on March 30, seeking to facilitate regional trade as the Asian export powers brace against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China, and China is also interested in buying chip products from Japan and South Korea, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, said in a post on Weibo.

All three sides agreed to strengthen supply chain cooperation and engage in more dialogue on export controls, the post said.

During the March 30 meeting, the countries’ trade ministers agreed to “closely cooperate for comprehensive and high-level” talks on a South Korea-Japan-China free trade agreement deal to promote “regional and global trade”, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The ministers met ahead of Mr Trump’s planned announcement on April 2 of more tariffs in what he calls “liberation day”, as he upends Washington’s trading partnerships.

Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo are major US trading partners, although they have been at loggerheads among themselves over issues including territorial disputes and Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant. REUTERS

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