- China, Japan, and South Korea agreed to team up against U.S. tariffs after their first economic meeting in five years.
- The countries plan to boost trade ties, especially around semiconductors and supply chain cooperation.
- Their talk comes just before Trump’s expected announcement of more tariffs on what he’s calling “liberation day.”
So here’s the deal—China, Japan, and South Korea finally sat down for a real talk. It’s the first one in half a decade. Yeah, five whole years. And after this rare get-together, they kinda came out of it with a plan: work together to handle all these U.S. tariffs being tossed around. That nugget of info came from a CCTV-affiliated social media account (Chinese state media, so it’s got some weight to it).
The timing? Not random. They’re all bracing for whatever tariff curveball Trump’s gonna throw next. Dude’s been on a roll with those.
Everyone Wants a Piece of the Chip Game
Japan and South Korea—both big on tech—are looking to China for raw materials to make semiconductors. At the same time, China’s eyeing chip products from those two. It’s like a supply chain version of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
The news popped up on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter, kinda), through a post by Yuyuan Tantian, who’s linked to Chinese media. Not exactly secret info, but not super loud either.
Supply Chains, Talks, and More Talks
Now, according to the post, all three countries agreed to keep chatting. About export controls, supply chains, the whole nine yards. Which makes sense—if the U.S. is putting up walls, they’ve gotta figure out how to move stuff around without too many headaches.
Also, they dropped a hint at wanting to push forward a free trade agreement between the three of them—South Korea, Japan, and China. Their trade ministers said something about “closely cooperating” for “comprehensive and high-level” talks. Sounds fancy, but it’s basically just: “let’s talk more and maybe sign some stuff.”
Trump’s “Liberation Day” and the Not-So-Subtle Timing
Here’s the kicker—Donald Trump is planning a big announcement for Wednesday. He’s calling it “liberation day,” and yeah, that sounds like something out of a movie. More tariffs are probably coming, maybe bigger than before.
And even though China, South Korea, and Japan haven’t exactly been besties lately (we’re talking territorial drama, history baggage, that whole Fukushima wastewater mess), they still do a lot of business with the U.S. So teaming up? Kinda logical.
What Now? Keep Talking, Keep Trading (Hopefully)
It’s a messy mix of politics, trade, and diplomacy—but at least they’re talking again. After five years of cold shoulders and side-eyes, that’s something.
Will this new team-up actually hold? No clue. But if it helps them dodge some of the tariff chaos, maybe it’s worth the try.
