Low expectations of Seoul summit necessary

A trilateral summit between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea is due to be held this weekend in Seoul. This will be the first such meeting in three years, as the previous summit between the three countries took place in Beijing in 2012.

Originally, the trilateral meetings took place aside of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits. Later, they became a separate event. When things were better the summit was an annual event, but it has been suspended since 2012.

Thanks primarily to the size of their economies, the three countries are not just regional powers, they carry weight in international affairs on the world stage too. Together the three account for about one-quarter of the gross world product and their share is growing. There are so many things on which the three countries could cooperate to their mutual benefit. There is even an urgent agenda in the realm of high politics, as they could jointly address such pressing tasks as maintaining stability and peace throughout the region and ensuring the region's sustainable development.