The United States, Japan and South Korea announced a new economic-security consultation and reinforced their support for stability across the Taiwan Strait on Monday, sending a coordinated message on two of Beijing’s most sensitive issues just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s summit with US President Donald Trump.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun unveiled the initiative after meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The three governments pledged to stand against economic coercion and “non-market policies and practices” that produce harmful industrial overcapacity and distort markets, as well as arbitrary export restrictions that disrupt global supply chains.
They also agreed to strengthen an existing trilateral supply-chain early warning system, according to a joint statement released by the US State Department.