However, they suggest that the trade tensions could create an opportunity for China to offer stronger incentives to enhance trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Seoul.
Zhang Yun, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University, said that tariff tensions might bring the three countries to develop closer ties, but Tokyo and Seoul would not abandon their alliance with Washington.
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Trump imposes 25% unilateral tariffs on Japan, South Korea amid slow negotiation progress
Trump imposes 25% unilateral tariffs on Japan, South Korea amid slow negotiation progress
He added that the pragmatic and less ideology-driven characteristics of Japanese and Korean leaders pushed them to pursue stable ties with China, which would be inclined to offer further incentives to promote economic cooperation.
