On June 27, the Third China Forum-China Review Think Tank Forum: A Look Back at The Ninth China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit and A Look Ahead to the Trilateral Relations was held in Beijing. Hosted by China Forum under Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) and the China Review Think Tank Foundation, the event looked at how China, Japan and the ROK can build trust and clear up doubts among them as the Trilateral Summit resumed after over four years and amid the increasingly complex political landscape in the region.

Panelists agree that the resumption of the Trilateral Summit has sent a positive signal to the world that the three countries still value and has remained committed to the cooperation mechanism among them. At the same time, they expressed concern about how Japan and South Korea have leaned over towards the US, and gave specific advice on how the three countries could build up their mutual trust and clear doubts under America’s strategic pressure.

Among the panelists were Zhu Feng, CISS expert; Zhang Tuosheng, senior research fellow, China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies; Zhang Yong, head of the Diplomatic Office, Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Fan Xiaoju, director, Institute of Northeast Asian Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations; and Wang Junsheng, research fellow, National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The event was moderated by CISS Director Da Wei.

The China Forum-China Review Think Tank Forum is an innovative cooperation project between China Forum and the China Review Think Tank Foundation that aims at exploring and proposing solutions to topics related to international relations.

This article was first published on July 5, 2024 on the website of China Review News Agency.