China to host trilateral summit with Japan, South Korea

ANKARA China will host the leaders of Japan and South Korea for a trilateral summit later this month, according to media reports on Thursday. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in the city of Chengdu on Dec. 24, Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reported. Citing South Korean Foreign Ministry’s statement, Yonhap said China’s vice foreign minister and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts would hold talks on Friday for the summit. “At their meeting, they will discuss matters related to the preparations for the upcoming summit," the ministry said. The high-level summit comes amid tensions between Japan and South Korea over war-time forced labor issue that left the two countries unleashing a trade war against each other since early this year. Meanwhile, Korea Herald reported that Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is reportedly seeking to meet with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha to discuss the issue.