The China–Japan–South Korea trilateral summit is an annual summit meeting attended by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, three major countries in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

and the world's second, fourth and 12th largest economies. The first summit was held during December 2008 in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, Japan. The talks are focused on maintaining strong trilateral relations,Chinese, Japanese PMs meet, pledge to boost bilateral ties
/ref> the regional economy and

disaster relief Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

. The summits were first proposed by South Korea in 2004, as a meeting outside the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three, with the three major economies of East Asia having a separate community forum. In November 2007 during the ASEAN Plus Three meeting, the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea held their eighth meeting, and decided to strengthen political dialogue and consultations between the three countries, eventually deciding on an

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

meeting to be held in 2008. In September 2011, the three countries launched the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. The secretary-general is appointed on a two-year rotational basis in the order of Korea, Japan, and China. Each country other than that of the secretary-general nominates a deputy secretary-general respectively.

Summits

Leader summits

Foreign Ministers' Meetings

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meetings

Economic and Trade Ministers' Meetings

Health Ministers' Meetings

Environment Ministers' Meetings

Culture Ministers' Meetings

Meetings

Such a meeting was first proposed by the Republic of Korea in 2004 (another viewpoint that it should have begun in November 1999, when

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

, the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Keizo Obuchi, the Prime Minister of Japan, and

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...

, the President of the Republic of Korea, held their first trilateral Leaders' Breakfast in the Philippines on the margins of the ASEAN-China Association meeting, thus setting the precedent for the trilateral Leaders to meet within the ASEAN (10+3) framework). In November 2007, when the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea held their eighth meeting within the framework of ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea (10+3), they decided to strengthen political dialog and consultation among the three countries and to hold occasional meetings among the leaders of the three countries, and at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries held in June 2008 in Tokyo, but due to the sudden resignation of Japanese Prime Minister

Yasuo Fukuda is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori an ...

, the meeting was postponed to December 13, 2008.

1st trilateral summit (2008)

The first separate meeting of the leaders of the three countries was held in Fukuoka, Japan. During the meeting, the "Joint Statement between the three partners" was signed and issued, which identified the direction and principles behind cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea. The conference adopted the "International Financial and Economic Issues Joint Statement", "Disaster Management of the Three Countries Joint Statement" and "Action plan to promote cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea". One of the topics discussed focused on the improvement of future relations between the three countries, from strategic and long-term perspectives. Prior talks between the three countries have been hindered specifically by various territorial and historical disputes. Chinese premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao ( zh, s=温家宝, p=Wēn Jiābǎo; born 15 September 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the 6th premier of China from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behin ...

stated that "China is willing to make joint efforts with Japan to continue to develop the strategic and mutually beneficial ties in a healthy and stable manner, to benefit the peoples of the two countries and other nations in the region as well." Japanese prime minister Tarō Asō also expressed that he believed the best manner in dealing with the

economic crisis of 2008 The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

was economic partnership. There is also speculation of a future regional

Free trade area A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...

. Such co-operation would greatly benefit the three nations, which account for two thirds of total trade, 40% of total population and three quarters of the GDP of Asia (20% of global GDP), during the ongoing economic crisis.

2nd trilateral summit (2009)

The second summit was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Despite the worries of limitations that the summit has faced in 2008, this all changed in 2009, when Japan, China and Korea were forced to coordinate and cooperate more closely to manage the regional effects of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. In their joint statement on the crisis, the trio identified the need to cooperate on global issues (such as financial risk) and in global institutions, including at the G20. While a reaction to global events, this cooperation began to significantly affect the management of East Asia. Over the course of 2009, the three nations resolved their long running dispute over contributions (and thus voting weight) in the Chiang Mai Initiatives, the first major 'success' of the ASEAN Plus Three process. The three nations also worked together to push through a general capital increase at the Asian Development Bank to help it fight the effects of the

, a decision mandated by the G20 but about which the US appeared ambivalent.

3rd trilateral summit (2010)

The third summit among these three countries was held in Jeju, Korea. The prime minister of Korea, Lee Myung bak hosted the meeting and China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, Japan's prime minister Yukio Hatoyama attended the meeting. One document called the 2020 Cooperation Prospect was released, which firstly emphasized that the three countries will face up to history and cooperate for the future development. Also, looking forward to the specific goals that should be achieved in the next ten years, this document stressed the importance to concentrate on the cooperation in different fields. In the progress of institutionalizations and improvements of the partnership, the leaders decided to enhance the communication and strategic mutual trust. The leaders agreed to establish a secretariat in Korea in 2011 to confront the natural disaster, discuss the possibility to build up the 'defense dialogue mechanism', improve the policing cooperation and boost the communication among the government. In terms of sustainable development and common prosperity, the leaders said they would try to complete the survey of the Trilateral Free Trade Area before 2012; improve the trade volume; enhance trade facilitation and they restated that they would attach great importance to the customs cooperation; make efforts to the negotiation about investment agreement and offer necessary infrastructure for the improvement of the free flow of investment capital; enhance the coordination of the financial departments; improve the effectiveness of the multilateral Chiang mai initiate; reject all forms of trade protectionism; improve the cooperation in science and innovation; and strengthen the cooperation and consultation policies in the fields of industry, energy, the energy efficiency and resource.

4th trilateral summit (2011)

Because the previous three summit meetings covered a wide range of world issues, they did not produce any concrete outcome. There was no agreement on North Korea's nuclear development or on the March and September 2010 incidents involving North Korea. Moreover, although the leaders of the three countries had agreed to set up a permanent secretariat headquartered in Seoul to facilitate trilateral cooperation, it has still not been implemented. The three leaders had also agreed to strengthen mutual understanding and trust, expand cooperation in trade, investment, finance, and environmental protection. The fourth meeting was held in the wake of the nuclear accident at Fukushima and the natural disaster in Japan. Prime Minister Kan Naoto proposed to hold the summit in Fukushima to convey the message to the world that Fukushima has already become a safe place. The Japanese government hoped that if the heads of the three countries gather in the crisis-stricken city, radiation fears will be mitigated. However, due to logistic problems, the meeting could not be held in Fukushima and instead was held in Tokyo. While Japan was accused of not providing its neighbours with accurate information when radioactive materials leaked at Fukushima, the summit led to agreement to establish an emergency notification system, enhance cooperation among experts, and share information in the event of emergencies.

5th trilateral summit (2012)

14 May 2012, Leaders from China, Japan, and South Korea concluded the Fifth Trilateral Summit Meeting and signed the Trilateral Agreement for the Promotion, Facilitation and Protection of Investment (hereinafter referred as the Trilateral Agreement) at a summit in Beijing. The Trilateral Agreement represents a stepping stone towards a three-way free trade pact to counter global economic turbulence and to boost economic growth in Asia. According to a joint declaration, the three nations will further enhance the “future-oriented comprehensive cooperative partnership” to unleash vitality into the economic growth of the three countries, accelerate economic integration in East Asia, and facilitate economic recovery and growth in the world. In the joint declaration, the three nations list directions and prioritization of future cooperation, which includes enhancing mutual political trust, deepening economic and trade cooperation, promoting sustainable development, expanding social, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and strengthening communication and coordination in regional and international affairs. Among all these proposals, the signing of the Trilateral Agreement and the decision to endorse the recommendation from the trade ministers to launch the trilateral FTA negotiations within this year are at the top of the priority list in deepening economic and trade cooperation.

6th trilateral summit (2015)

The 6th trilateral summit was held on 1 November 2015 in

, resuming the summit since 2012 due to varieties of disputes and issues ranging from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

apologies to territorial disputes among the three nations. During the summit, Chinese Premier

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang ( zh, s=李克强, p=Lǐ Kèqiáng; 3 July 1955 – 27 October 2023) was a Chinese economist and politician who served as the seventh premier of China from 2013 to 2023. He was also the second-ranked member of the Politburo Standing ...

, Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the longest-serving pri ...

, and South Korean President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

agreed to meet annually in order to work towards deepening trade relations with the proposed trilateral free trade agreement. They also agreed to pursue the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Since 2016, relations between the People's Republic of China and South Korea have deteriorated over the deployment of the South Korean anti-missile system Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. In the same year, South Korean President

was impeached and suspended from office over the Choi Soon-sil scandal. As a result, the China-Japan-South Korea Leaders' Meeting, which was originally scheduled to be held in early December 2016 in Japan, had to be postponed. The meeting was originally planned to be postponed to 2017 and still be held in Japan, but relations between China and South Korea have deteriorated sharply due to the continued festering of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense affair. Japan's failure to satisfy the People's Republic of China on the history issue and other issues kept the meeting on the back burner, and the leaders of the three countries did not meet in 2016 or 2017.

7th trilateral summit (2018)

The 7th trilateral summit was held on 9 May 2018 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, resuming the summit since 2015. Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

and South Korean President

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

attended the meeting. During his visit to Japan, Li will also attend the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China and the "Sino-Japanese Governors' Forum".

8th trilateral summit (2019)

On the morning of December 24, 2019, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

, South Korean President

, and Japanese Prime Minister

attended the 8th China-Japan-South Korea Leaders' Meeting in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, exchanging views on China-Japan-South Korea cooperation, as well as on regional and international issues. In the afternoon of December 24, Li Keqiang, along with Moon and Abe, attended the Dufu Caotang Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, to mark the China-Japan-South Korea Cooperation. On December 25, Li and Abe held talks at Mount Qingcheng before visiting the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project. At the meeting, the "Outlook for the Next Ten Years of China-Japan-ROK Cooperation" and other outcome documents were also released. The leaders of the three countries did not meet from 2020 to 2023. This was due to the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

as well as strained Korean–Japanese relations due to the judgment of the

Supreme Court of Korea The Supreme Court of Korea () is the highest ordinary court in the judicial branch of South Korea, seated in Seocho, Seoul. Established under Chapter 5 of the Constitution of South Korea, the court has ultimate and comprehensive jurisdictio ...

against Japanese companies for compensation in the case of former expelled laborers, with the Japanese government strongly opposing it.

9th trilateral summit (2024)

On May 26–27, 2024, the 9th China-Japan-ROK Leaders' Meeting was held in Seoul, South Korea. Chinese Premier

Li Qiang Li Qiang (; born July 1959) is a Chinese politician who has been serving as the eighth and current premier of China since March 2023. He has been elevated to the second-ranking member on the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist ...

, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended the meeting. The three leaders' meeting was the first trilateral talks in more than four years. It comes at a time when South Korea and Japan have been trying to repair ties damaged by historical disputes while deepening their trilateral security partnership with the United States amid heightened Sino-U.S. rivalry. Li Qiang agreed with Yoon Suk Yeol to launch a diplomatic and security dialogue and resume free trade talks, while China and Japan agreed to hold a new round of bilateral high-level economic dialogue at an appropriate time. The three leaders also agreed to designate the year 2025 and 2026 as the China-Japan-South Korea Cultural Exchange Year. After the meeting, the three leaders joined a business summit aimed at boosting trade between the countries. Some top industry leaders attended the summit.

TCS secretaries-general

The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) is an international organization established with a vision to promote peace and common prosperity among China, Japan, and South Korea. List of TCS secretaries-general: * Shin Bong-kil (1 September 2011 - 31 August 2013) ** Rui Matsukawa & Mao Ning (Deputies) * Shigeo Iwatani (1 September 2013 - 31 August 2015) ** Chen Feng & Lee Jong-heon (Deputies) * Yang Houlan (1 September 2015 – 31 August 2017) ** Lee Jong-heon & Akima Umezawa (Deputies) * Lee Jong-heon (1 September 2017 – 31 August 2019) ** Yamamoto Yasushi & Han Mei (Deputies) * Hisashi Michigami (1 September 2019 – 31 August 2021) ** Jing Cao & Kang Do-ho (Deputies) * Ou Boqian (1 September 2021 – 31 August 2023) ** Bek Bum-hym & Sakata Natsuko (Deputies) * Lee Hee-sup (1 September 2023 – present) ** Zushi Shuji & Yan Liang (Deputies)

Countries data and comparison

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" ! Name !!

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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, 1,404,237,200 , 125,930,000 , 51,780,579 , - ,

Area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

, 9,596,960 , 377,915 , 100,210 , - ,

Population Density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

, 146.3/sq mi , 333.2/sq mi , 516.7/sq mi , - , Government ,

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parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

constitutional monarchy ,

presidential constitutional republic , - , Formation , 2070 BC ( First imperial dynasty)
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Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

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Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

; 2023–present) ,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shigeru Ishiba Shigeru Ishiba (born 4 February 1957) is a Japanese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2024. He has been a member of ...

( Liberal Democratic Party; 2024–present) ,

Lee Ju-ho Lee Ju-ho (; born 17 February 1961) is a South Korean economist who served as the acting president of South Korea from May to June 2025 and has served as the acting prime minister of South Korea since May 2025. He has also served as the deputy ...

(

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; 2025–present, acting) , - , Current Head of State ,

CCP General Secretary The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party ...

and

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Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

(

; 2012–present) ,

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

(2019–present) ,

Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born ) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who has served as the 14th president of South Korea since 2025. Lee previously held office as the governor of Gyeonggi Province from 2018 to 2021, as the leader of the Democrati ...

( Democratic Party; 2025–present) , - ,

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Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...

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South Korean won The South Korean won (symbol: ₩; code: KRW; ) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and it appears only in foreign exchange ...

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Demographics

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, 20,217,748 , - ,

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Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, 10,358,381 , - ,

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, 9,702,144 , - ,

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, 9,562,255 , - ,

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

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BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, date=2012-01-29, access-date=2024-08-08, archive-date=6 August 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806003730/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16761784, url-status=live which includes several disjunct urban areas in addition to Chongqing proper. Due to its classification, the municipality of Chongqing, with a population of 32,054,159 in 2018, is the largest city proper in the world by population, though Chongqing is not the most populous urban area.

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, 7,541,527 , - ,

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, 7,336,585 , - ,

Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...

, 7,271,322 , - ,

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

, 6,771,895 {{col-3 {, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , + {{flag, Japan , - style="background:#ececec;" ! Municipal ! Population (2015 Census) , - ,

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Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture (or ''Tokyo-fu'') which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundari ...

in 1943, Tokyo has been designated as a "metropolis" and contains

23 special wards The of Tokyo are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities. With a l ...

. , 13,491,000 , - ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, 3,724,844 , - ,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, 2,691,185 , - ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, 2,295,638 , - ,

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, 1,952,356 , - ,

, 1,538,681 , - ,

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, 1,537,272 , - , Kawasaki , 1,475,213 , - ,

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, 1,475,183 , - , Saitama , 1,263,979 {{col-3 {, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , + {{flag, South Korea , - style="background:#ececec;" ! Municipal ! Population (2015 Census) , - ,

, 9,904,312 , - ,

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, 3,448,737 , - ,

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, 2,890,451 , - ,

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

, 2,466,052 , - ,

Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

, 1,538,394 , - ,

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, 1,502,881 , - ,

Suwon Suwon (; ) is the largest city and capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. The city lies approximately south of the national capital, Seoul. With a population of 1.2 million, Suwon has more inhabitants than Ulsan, tho ...

, 1,194,313 , - ,

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

, 1,166,615 , - ,

Changwon Changwon (; ) is the capital and largest city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea (with a population of 1,025,702 ), and the 11th largest city of the South Korea, country. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south, and the ...

, 1,059,241 , - ,

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

, 990,073 {{col-end

Military

{, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

! Active Military !

Military Budget A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes. Financing milita ...

billions of USD
(2020) !

% of GDP
(2020) ! Military RankingGFP
br />(2020) , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , align="center" , 2,183,000 , align="center" , 237.0 , align="center" , 1.9 , align="center" , 3rd , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , align="center" , 247,160 , align="center" , 49.0 , align="center" , 0.9 , align="center" , 5th , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , align="center" , 580,000 , align="center" , 44.0 , align="center" , 2.7 , align="center" , 6th

Economy

{, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! GDP nominal
millions of USD
(2019) ! GDP PPP
millions of USD
(2019) ! GDP nominal per capita
USD
(2019) ! GDP PPP per capita
USD
(2019) !

Exports An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

millions of USD
(2017) !

Imports An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

millions of USD
(2017) !

International trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

millions of USD
(2013) , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , style="text-align:left;" ,

Chinese yuan The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...

(CNY; {{lang, zh-cn, 圆; {{lang, zh-cn, ￥) , align="center" , 14,140,163 , align="center" , 27,308,857 , align="center" , 10,098 , align="center" , 19,504 , align="center" , 2,157,000 , align="center" , 1,731,000 , align="center" , 4,921,000 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , style="text-align:left;" ,

(JPY; {{lang, ja, 円; {{lang, ja, ￥) , align="center" , 5,154,475 , align="center" , 5,747,496 , align="center" , 40,846 , align="center" , 44,227 , align="center" , 683,300 , align="center" , 625,700 , align="center" , 1,600,000 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{nowrap, {{flag, South Korea , style="text-align:left;" , {{nowrap,

(KRW; {{lang, ko, 원; {{lang, ko, ￦) , align="center" , 1,629,532 , align="center" , 2,319,585 , align="center" , 31,430 , align="center" , 44,740 , align="center" , 577,400 , align="center" , 457,500 , align="center" , 1,103,000

Credit ratings

{, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! Fitch !

Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...

! S&P , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , align="center" , A+ , align="center" , A1 , align="center" , A+ , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , align="center" , A , align="center" , A1 , align="center" , A+ , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , align="center" , AA- , align="center" , Aa2 , align="center" , AA

Organization and groups

{, class="wikitable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! G20 ! G8 ! P5 ! G4 nations, G4 ! Uniting for Consensus, UfC ! Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD ! Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO ! BRICS !Belt and Road Initiative, BRI ! MIKTA ! Major non-NATO ally, MNNA ! Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC ! East Asia Summit, EAS ! ASEAN Free Trade Area#ASEAN Plus Three, APT ! United Nations, UN ! World Trade Organization, WTO ! International Monetary Fund, IMF ! World Bank Group, WBG ! International Seabed Authority, ISA ! Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU ! Interpol , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , {{N , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{N , align="center" , {{N , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y , align="center" , {{Y

Airport traffic

;List of the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic, Top busiest airports by passenger traffic (2019) {, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! Airport ! Total passengers , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , Beijing Capital International Airport , 100,011,000 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , Haneda Airport, Tokyo International Airport , 85,505,054 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , Incheon International Airport , 71,169,516 ;List of the world's busiest airports by international passenger traffic, Top busiest airports by international passenger traffic (2018) {, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! Airport ! Total passengers , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , Hong Kong International Airport , 74,360,976 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , Incheon International Airport , 67,676,147 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , Narita International Airport , 35,300,076 ;List of the world's busiest airports by cargo traffic, Top busiest airports by cargo traffic (2019) {, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! Airport ! Total passengers , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , Hong Kong International Airport , 4,809,485 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , Incheon International Airport , 2,764,369 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , Narita International Airport , 2,104,063 ;World's busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic, Top busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic (2018) {, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:90%" , - style="background:#ececec;" !

! Airport ! Total passengers , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, Japan , Tokyo: Narita International Airport, Narita, Haneda Airport, Haneda, & Chōfu Airport, Chōfu , 130,589,705 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, China , Shanghai: Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Pudong & Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Hongqiao , 117,636,331 , - , style="text-align:left;" , {{flag, South Korea , Seoul: Incheon International Airport, Incheon & Gimpo International Airport, Gimpo , 92,953,372 {{Commons

Notes

{{notelist

References

{{reflist

External links

Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (official website)
{{East Asian topics {{China–Japan relations {{China–South Korea relations {{Japan–South Korea relations {{DEFAULTSORT:China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit 2000s in economic history 2008 conferences 2008 in China 2008 in international relations 2008 in Japan 2008 in South Korea 21st-century diplomatic conferences Annual events in Asia Diplomatic conferences in Japan Great Recession Politics of East Asia China–Japan–South Korea relations

Summits

Leader summits

Foreign Ministers' Meetings

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meetings

Economic and Trade Ministers' Meetings

Health Ministers' Meetings

Environment Ministers' Meetings

Culture Ministers' Meetings

Meetings

1st trilateral summit (2008)

2nd trilateral summit (2009)

3rd trilateral summit (2010)

4th trilateral summit (2011)

5th trilateral summit (2012)

6th trilateral summit (2015)

7th trilateral summit (2018)

8th trilateral summit (2019)

9th trilateral summit (2024)

TCS secretaries-general

Countries data and comparison

Demographics

Military

Economy

Credit ratings

Organization and groups

Airport traffic

See also

Notes

References

External links