By Yi Whan-woo
China has hinted at discussing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting among Korea, China and Japan in Seoul, Saturday.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Wednesday that the top diplomats of the three countries may "touch upon" the Beijing-led AIIB.
The meeting among Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his counterparts ― Wang Yi of China and Fumio Kishida of Japan ― is mainly aimed at paving the way for restoring three-way cooperation, according to the Seoul government.
Hong's comments came amid Korea's growing dilemma over whether to join the China-led multinational lender, which is seen as a challenge to the U.S.-led international financial order.
In particular, the AIIB is expected to compete against the existing Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multinational lender for which Japan and the U.S. remain the two biggest shareholders.
China pledged to fund the initial $50 billion in capital to finance construction of roads and other infrastructure in development projects in Asia.
But the U.S. has raised concerns over whether the AIIB will meet the standards of the World Bank and other regional banks in terms of governance, lending standards and procurement rules.
Korea is considering joining the AIIB after Europe's economic powers ― the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy ― have announced their plan to do so. Japan remains pessimistic about the AIIB.
In their trilateral meeting at The Shilla Hotel, Yun, Wang and Kishida are expected to assess the current status of trilateral cooperation and discuss the future direction for further development, according to Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A meeting between the three states has not taken place since April 2012 amid Korea's and China's strained bilateral relations with Japan due to historical and territorial disputes.
Seoul and Beijing have slammed Tokyo for refusing to face up to Japan's wartime atrocities, such as its sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women during World War II.
Ties between Tokyo and its two neighbors also have been strained by a territorial row over Korea's easternmost islets, Dokdo as well as a group of inhabited islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China.
Diplomatic sources speculate the meeting could result in a trilateral summit among President Park Geun-hye, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, depending on its outcome.
During a regional summit in Myanmar in November, Park expressed her hope to meet with Xi and Abe at a trilateral summit following an envisioned meeting of their foreign ministers in the near future.
China has hinted at discussing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting among Korea, China and Japan in Seoul, Saturday.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Wednesday that the top diplomats of the three countries may "touch upon" the Beijing-led AIIB.
The meeting among Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his counterparts ― Wang Yi of China and Fumio Kishida of Japan ― is mainly aimed at paving the way for restoring three-way cooperation, according to the Seoul government.
Hong's comments came amid Korea's growing dilemma over whether to join the China-led multinational lender, which is seen as a challenge to the U.S.-led international financial order.
In particular, the AIIB is expected to compete against the existing Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multinational lender for which Japan and the U.S. remain the two biggest shareholders.
China pledged to fund the initial $50 billion in capital to finance construction of roads and other infrastructure in development projects in Asia.
But the U.S. has raised concerns over whether the AIIB will meet the standards of the World Bank and other regional banks in terms of governance, lending standards and procurement rules.
Korea is considering joining the AIIB after Europe's economic powers ― the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy ― have announced their plan to do so. Japan remains pessimistic about the AIIB.
In their trilateral meeting at The Shilla Hotel, Yun, Wang and Kishida are expected to assess the current status of trilateral cooperation and discuss the future direction for further development, according to Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A meeting between the three states has not taken place since April 2012 amid Korea's and China's strained bilateral relations with Japan due to historical and territorial disputes.
Seoul and Beijing have slammed Tokyo for refusing to face up to Japan's wartime atrocities, such as its sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women during World War II.
Ties between Tokyo and its two neighbors also have been strained by a territorial row over Korea's easternmost islets, Dokdo as well as a group of inhabited islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China.
Diplomatic sources speculate the meeting could result in a trilateral summit among President Park Geun-hye, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, depending on its outcome.
During a regional summit in Myanmar in November, Park expressed her hope to meet with Xi and Abe at a trilateral summit following an envisioned meeting of their foreign ministers in the near future.
