China, South Korea and Japan agree to strengthen free trade

China, South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to strengthen free trade in the face of a raft of new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

The meeting was attended by South Korea's industry minister Ahn Duk-geun, his Japanese counterpart Yoji Muto, and China's Wang Wentao. The three countries called for their negotiations for a comprehensive trilateral free-trade agreement to be speeded up, and agreed to create "a predictable trade and investment environment. Following the meeting between the three ministers, they also held bilateral meetings.