Trade ministers from China, Japan and South Korea held their 13th summit in Seoul on Sunday, the first since 2019. The three sides agreed to continue supporting the " rules-based, open, inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core," according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun (pictured) also called on the three nations to cooperate on new challenges, including the rise of artificial intelligence, supply chains and critical minerals. The ministers also discussed tariffs imposed by the United States, with Ahn stressing protectionism is "not the answer."