A primer on the upcoming 7th China-Japan-ROK summit

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First proposed by the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 2004 as a meeting outside the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three, the forum is meant to function as a coordinator of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the three East Asian nations of China, Japan, and ROK.

With the seventh summit starting on May 9, we've put together a brief history of the previous six summits between China, Japan and ROK below.

CGTN Photo

What's expected from this year's summit?

Korean Peninsula peace process

With the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and ROK pledging to officially end the Korean War – hopes are high for a possible denuclearization of the peninsula.

Both China and Japan have stated that they are willing to talk with Pyongyang, with ROK having the most at stake in this process. However, experts are unsure if anything tangible will come out of this summit.

"Cooperation between the three countries on the Korean Peninsula is of great significance to the construction of a comprehensive cooperative relationship between China, Japan and ROK," Jin Linbo, researcher of China Institute of International Studies said, "but it is not clear that the 7th China-Japan-ROK summit will be able to achieve concrete results."

This is a DigitalGlobe image of the five megawatt (electric) reactor at DPRK's Yongbyon facility from August 31, 2013 with steam seen coming from the electrical power generation building. /VCG Photo

Perhaps the most important next step in the peace process will be the upcoming meeting between US President Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. The two leaders will meet In late May or early June, with Singapore reported as the most possible venue.

"We're doing very well with North Korea (DPRK)," said Trump. "I haven't given up anything. They've given up – denuclearization, testing research, they're going to close different sites. They gave it all up before we even asked," US President Trump told Fox News in an interview. Details and expectations of the coming Trump-Kim meeting is likely to be discussed at the China-Japan-ROK summit.

Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for ROK's presidential Blue House, speaks during a news conference following the announcement that US President Donald Trump has agreed to meet DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un, March 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

Commercial ties

Previous summits has led to free trade agreements and the three countries have discussed issues such as the economy, trade, transport, environment and disaster management – all of which are bound to be part of talks at the summit starting on Wednesday.

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Together, the three Asian economies make up one-fifth of the world's total GDP. Negotiations have been ongoing for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the three countries since 2012. Since then, meetings have been held in rotation.

China, Japan and ROK are the world's second, third and 11th largest economies respectively. If a FTA is signed, the giant common market in Northeast Asia will be a strong driver of regional economic integration, trade and investment growth, and can eventually breathe new life into the world economy, Jiang Yuechun, director of the Department for World Economy and Development Studies at China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), said.

Officials of China, Japan and ROK attend a meeting to discuss a trilateral free trade agreement in Tokyo on April 13, 2017. /VCG Photo