Summary

China, Japan, and South Korea held their first trade talks in 5 years in Seoul, agreeing to deepen cooperation amid looming U.S. tariffs announced by Donald Trump.

With a 25% tariff on car imports threatening their export-heavy economies, the three nations pledged to advance negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement and strengthen the RCEP.

South Korea’s trade minister emphasized joint action against global economic fragmentation.

The meeting marks a renewed push for regional trade unity as tensions with the U.S. grow. The next meeting will be held in Japan.

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Donald Trump out there repairing international relationships in months that have been on the rocks for the last millennium.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      He’ll be remembered as the man who united the world…against the US. Lol

      What’s the over/under on trade shifting to the Renminbi before his term is through?

      • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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        3 days ago

        He’ll be remembered as the man who united the world…against the US. Lol

        i’ve had this talk with a close colleague yesterday… they said something along the lines of “war is the father of all things, it brings progress”,

        and i replied: " well, if the US starts a war, it might well bring progress alright, but that progress would likely be to get rid of the tyrant that the US has become."

      • Joncash2@lemmy.ml
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        3 days ago

        I’d bet a trillion dollars that the trade won’t shift to the RMB. The main reason is simple, that’s not what China wants. I’m so tired of western analysts not understanding a god damn thing about what China is doing. They see the US wanting the dollar to be the main trading currency so they assume because USA wants it, China HAS TO WANT IT BECAUSE CHINA HAS TO OPERATE EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. It’s so ignorant it makes me puke. It’s the same thing with them droning on and on about war with Taiwan.

        How about we take a I dunno a god damn minute to see how China is changing trade? Currency swaps. I’m not going to delve deep into how it works, research it if you’re curious. But basically the countries exchange like a trillion dollars and every time a transaction occurs, money is pulled out of that pool. The reason China loves this is because essentially no monetary transaction has occurred. If you were ever wondering how China keeps growing as their trades on swift go down, this is how. The best part is nothing is transparent about any of this. China can show or hide what ever the fuck they want. Which leads directly to articles about China lying about their economy. Which they are, as the IMF discovered China is hiding trillions and trillions of currency from these exchanges. This isn’t me saying this, this is the god damn western IMF saying this.

        So then, if this is working for China, someone needs to explain why the fuck China would even want to be the main trading currency.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          So then, if this is working for China, someone needs to explain why the fuck China would even want to be the main trading currency.

          I don’t think they’re concerned with currency so much as flow of trade, generally speaking. They’ll happily trade under a multi-currency system, just so long as the money goes through their banks and brokers.

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          I never said that China wants it. It’s only logical to use the currency from the most influential commercial nation in an international trade agreement. It is expected to become the de facto BRICS currency soon, with China having over 120 trade partners.

          • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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            3 days ago

            The whole point is it would severely disadvantage China for its currency to become the international trade currency. They would lose control over it much like the US does not really control the dollar.

            BRICS wants a new currency to replace the dollar AFAIK.

            • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              Agreed. It’s not really China’s decision as much as it is their trade partners. Currency swapping is far more costly from an accounting standpoint, which is why many BRICS nations have adopted the Renminbi for trade.

          • Joncash2@lemmy.ml
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            3 days ago

            Sure, because that’s the western answer to everything. The west created this system, therefore we can’t possibly see any other way of things working. China, developed their own way. Instead of trying to understand it, the Westerners default into the RMB must become the reserve currency, because the west is too ignorant to understand what China has created.

            *Edit. Thus China is winning. The west doesn’t even try to understand how they are winning, instead they use their systems to try to understand China. So all they see is what China wants them to see. Like China wants you to think their economy is weak and the west falls for it. It’s stunningly ignorant.

            • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              Why are you so defensive about something I’m not attacking? I’m not suggesting this is China’s plan, but an inevitability of circumstance.

              A currency must be selected for trade between two nations. US isolationism will continue to devalue the US dollar and reduce its commercial presence on a global stage to the point that another currency will likely be selected for use. China has established a commanding presence in global trade, so it’s only logical to assume that nations trading with China would use the Renminbi over the US dollar.

              • Joncash2@lemmy.ml
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                3 days ago

                Because what you are saying ignores everything BRICS is doing. All BRICS nations are copying China’s currency swaps. None of them are using the RMB as a reserve currency, except for Russia. If 120 nations can do it in unison, why can’t Europe fall in line as well?

                • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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                  3 days ago

                  I understand what you’re saying, but I have read from countless economists that the ease of a reserve currency far outweighs the equality of currency swapping. I can provide many sources if you’d like to read them, but as you said, they’re all westerners.

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    3 days ago

    finally some good news

    i see that as putting animosities aside and cooperating.

    background: china and korea have had a difficult relationship with Japan for decades, going back to some war when Japan invaded the other two and raped a lot of women and did other stuff they did not like.

  • engene@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    Regional cooperation is necessary and should be a priority for trade. If only Canada had something similar - a strong country next door we can rely on 🤨 #elbowsup 💪🏼