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Diplomacy
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Cary Huang
Cary Huang

Sino File | China, Japan and South Korea must choose: history or economics

  • The three countries have a complicated rivalry over war history and territorial claims, but economic cooperation remains their biggest bond
  • Leaders recently shared their desire for a free-trade agreement in a market of over 1.5 billion people

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South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are pictured ahead of the trilateral summit in Sichuan province, during which they shared their desire for peace and economic prosperity. Photo: AFP
Cary Huang
The historic tales of China’s ancient Three Kingdoms can be used to explain the complicated rivalry between China, Japan and South Korea, which have often had troubled relations despite their geographical proximity, similar cultures and close economic ties.
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The three East Asian powers have taken turns at being the envy of the world with their miraculous growth after World War II, first seen by Japan, then South Korea and China. Today, China is Asia’s largest economy, Japan second and South Korea fourth. Combined, they account for a quarter of global economic output.

That is why the leaders of these nations, who met in a trilateral summit in China’s south-western Sichuan province on December 24, shared their desire for peace and prosperity despite the increased tensions on all sides of the regional triangle over the past decade.
The trilateral leaders’ meeting between China, South Korea and Japan in China’s Sichuan province. Photo: Reuters
The trilateral leaders’ meeting between China, South Korea and Japan in China’s Sichuan province. Photo: Reuters

Since the first summit in 2008, bilateral relations between Beijing and Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, and Tokyo and Seoul have been locked in bitter disputes over war history, territory, regional security and other issues.

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The modern history of East Asia saw Japan colonising China and Korea, followed by the 1950-53 Korean war that divided Korea into two opposite alliances, in which communist China fought on the side of North Korea and Japan on the side of South Korea, led by the United States.

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