China, Japan, and South Korea made a rare show of public cooperation to combat President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods.
The countries are looking to offset costs associated with Trump’s steep tariffs on automobile imports, which he announced last week. Japan and South Korea will import semiconductor raw materials from China and Beijing will secure chip products from Japan and South Korea, according to a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
On Monday, a post on Weibo by Yuyuan Tantian said the Asian countries are seeking to strengthen supply chain cooperation and expand dialogue on export controls, according to Reuters.
The announcement followed a weekend conference between China, Japan, and South Korea, during which 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.”
The conference sought to capitalize on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a trade deal the three countries agreed to in 2022. It was the countries’ first trilateral economic dialogue in five years.
Japan’s increased economic cooperation with China came amid the Trump administration’s expanded efforts to strengthen its relationship with Tokyo to fend off military threats from Beijing.
During a trip to Tokyo on Sunday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced plans to upgrade the U.S. military’s command base in Japan.
Japan is “our indispensable partner” in “deterring communist Chinese military aggression,” Hegseth told Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, adding that Tokyo is a “cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.”
“As my first platoon motto says, ‘Those who long for peace must prepare for war.’ We must be prepared, [and] we look forward to working closely together [with Japan] as we improve our warfighting capabilities, our lethality and our readiness,” Hegseth said.
“Our job at the Defense Department … is to build an alliance so robust that both the reality and the perception of deterrence is real and ongoing so that the Communist Chinese don’t take the aggressive action that some have contemplated they will,” Hegseth continued. “Japan would be on the front lines of any contingency we might face in the Western Pacific, and we stand together in support of each other.”
Despite its partnership with the Trump administration to combat China’s military ambitions, Japan signed an agreement with Beijing and South Korea over the weekend to deepen economic ties between the three Asian countries.
“We keep discussions for speeding up negotiations for a Trilateral [free trade agreement] with a view to realizing a free, fair, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial [agreement] with its own value,” the statement said.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES NEW 25% TARIFFS ON AUTO IMPORTS
The trilateral summit responded to Trump’s announcement last Wednesday of new 25% tariffs “on all cars that are not made in the United States.” The tariffs will go into effect on April 2.
The economic sanctions promise to carry heavy repercussions for China, Japan, and South Korea, which are some of the biggest suppliers of automobile products to the United States.