China wants to fill the 'void' left by the US in East Asia

China also wants to use separate bilateral meetings to contribute to reconciliation and ease the tense Japan-South Korea relationship.

China is aiming to boost its role and influence in East Asia by trying to reconcile bitter differences between Japan and South Korea when their leaders arrive in Beijing on Tuesday, diplomats said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and South Korean President Moon Jae-in hold a trilateral summit in Tokyo, May 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are scheduled to meet separately with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing before heading to Chengdu, where they will join Premier Li Keqiang for a trilateral summit. This will be the eighth trilateral summit since 2008.

Notably, this event took place when Tokyo and Seoul - America's most important allies in Asia - are in a state of tension over a series of issues, from history to trade.

While the Washington administration, with a series of domestic issues to deal with, has kept its distance from the disputes between these two allies, Beijing - America's strategic rival - is ready to mediate between the two countries.

The trilateral conference mechanism like this one is a typical example. In addition, there is also a separate bilateral meeting between the Japanese Prime Minister and the South Korean President for the first time since September 2018, scheduled to be held on the sidelines of this trilateral summit.

He Ping, assistant professor of political economy at Fudan University in Shanghai, said Beijing could offer South Korea and Japan important roles in the global product supply chain.

This is particularly significant as the Japan-South Korea trade dispute is not simply a bilateral trade issue but also affects other countries, including China. Beijing is likely to encourage the two countries to play a larger role in regional and global free trade.

In fact, all three sides have been concerned about the decline in economic cooperation between the countries - the first, second and fourth largest economies in Asia. According to official figures, exports from Japan and South Korea have fallen consecutively in recent months, partly due to a decline in shipments to China.

In addition to trilateral economic cooperation, the agenda of this China-Japan-South Korea summit is also dominated by the North Korea issue. According to observers, China will try to persuade Japan and South Korea to influence the US to lift some sanctions on North Korea, in order to break the current deadlock.

However, this will be quite difficult as Japan has always supported measures against North Korea and often avoided commenting on China's proposal.

Meanwhile, although South Korea considers China a catalyst to resume negotiations with North Korea, it has never given a clear answer on whether or not it can persuade the US and how effective it is./.