Vice Premier Gu Yunzhé urges to strengthen Korea-China-Japan economic cooperation... to respond to the uncertainties of the Middle East conflict

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Choo Kyung-ho, said that to cope with the widening external uncertainties caused by the Middle East war, it is necessary to further strengthen economic and financial cooperation among South Korea, China, and Japan. His remarks were interpreted as meaning that, because geopolitical conflicts affect energy prices, the trade environment, and financial market sentiment at the same time, it is necessary to examine common response frameworks among similar economic circles.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho chaired the 26th Korea-China-Japan Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on May 3. The meeting was held as part of an annual consultation mechanism to coordinate major agenda items in advance, ahead of the ASEAN+3 (a consultative mechanism made up of the ten ASEAN countries plus South Korea, China, and Japan) meeting of finance ministers. This year, with South Korea serving as the chair and leading the discussions, the participating countries jointly reviewed the impact of the recent Middle East war on their respective economies and the directions for their responses.

The three countries of Korea, China, and Japan assessed that last year, amid continued global economic uncertainty, they still maintained a relatively stable growth momentum, and this tone has continued into the first quarter of 2026. However, the three agreed that the recent Middle East war has once again widened uncertainty, and risks of an economic downturn are also increasing. The risk of an economic downturn refers to the possibility that economic growth momentum may be weaker than expected, which is especially sensitive for East Asian countries with a high dependence on exports.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho explained that the three countries are not only facing immediate war risks, but are also jointly confronting structural challenges such as low birth rates and population aging, declining growth potential, and stabilizing supply chains. Behind this is an understanding that these issues are problems that go beyond short-term shocks and undermine the very foundation of long-term growth, making them difficult to solve by any single country acting alone. He proposed that, to achieve sustainable growth and shared prosperity, countries should share information more closely and jointly explore alternative policy options.

Regarding financial safety nets, the meeting also emphasized cooperation mechanisms at the ASEAN+3 level. Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho said that the effectiveness of the multilateralization of the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMIM— a system in which regional countries provide mutual funding support to respond to foreign-exchange crises and other issues) should be improved, and the capacity of the regional economic surveillance organization, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), should be strengthened. The aim is that when external shocks occur, countries should not be limited to individual responses, but should raise the joint defense mechanism to an actually operational level. The next Korea-China-Japan Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is planned to be held in Nagoya, Japan, and this trend may in the future further drive economic security cooperation and financial collaboration in East Asia toward a more concrete direction.