On Monday, Chinese state media account reported that China, Japan, and South Korea would be joining responding to the U.S. tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump. However, Seoul claims that report is “somewhat exaggerated” and Tokyo denied the report completely.
Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China, and China is also interested in purchasing chip products from Japan and South Korea, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, linked to China Central Television, 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.
When asked about the Chinese state media report, a spokesperson for South Korea’s trade ministry replied that “the suggestion that there was a joint response to U.S. tariffs appears to have been somewhat exaggerated.”
On Tuesday, when Japan’s Trade Minister Yoji Muto was asked about the report, he claims that there was a meeting to exchange views, but no such discussions on jointly addressing the tariffs were had.
During Sunday’s meeting, the countries’ trade ministers agreed to speed up 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 three countries exchanged views on the global trade environment, and as you can see in the joint statement, they shared their understanding of the need to continue economic and trade cooperation,” said the South Korean trade ministry spokesperson.