Trade officials from China, South Korea, and Japan meet in Beijing on December 22, 2019. (Photo: KYODO)

The consensus was reached 2 days before a trilateral summit on Tuesday in Chengdu, China.

As this year’s summit host, China seeks to strengthen ties with Japan and South Korea to mitigate the effects of its trade war with the US. China is also pushing for the completion of the RCEP which also involves India, Australia, New Zealand, and 10 ASEAN countries.