Wide-open expectations
▶ Great potential for peace and trade as Northeast Asia prepares for more talks
After South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced his meeting with his North Korean counterpart earlier this month, media began to speculate when the next Trump-Kim summit will take place.
Relations are improving between the two Koreas, and also Pyongyang and Washington. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently visited China. Northeast Asia is showing new possibilities to the world.
A Global Times reporter visited South Korea together with a group of Chinese reporters to explore what efforts should be made to achieve the shared prosperity in the region.
Obstacles to progress
Once the Chinese journalists arrived in Inchon, South Korea, they saw a group of drivers protesting against ineffective online ride-hailing regulations. The issue represents a hard nut for the South Korean government – how to revitalize the domestic economy and create jobs. Economic problems have resulted in a steep drop in Moon’s approval rating.
Some South Koreans think Moon prioritizes improving relations with
North Korea as well as denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula to distract from solving domestic economic problems.
As a result, a peaceful peninsula has become a principal policy for South Korea to build an inclusive country and achieve sustainable development.
Communication and interaction involving all parties is needed to carry forward the initiative of creating a peaceful Peninsula in an effective manner.
Hwang Jae-ho, a professor of International Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, told the Global Times that although denuclearization and the Northeast Asian situation are improving, there remain uncertain matters such as inconsistent attitudes toward denuclearization and lifting sanctions, which can be a “submerged rock” threatening the path to peace.
In addition, China-US trade conflicts and the lack of a mature and effective safety mechanism in the Northern Asian area will potentially put regional development into a deadlock.
According to Hwang, with the Japanese prime minister’s first official visit to China in seven years, improving relations between China and Japan will bring fresh opportunities for the steady and peaceful development of the region.
The priority at present is to establish a new safety mechanism in Northeast Asia to make the stable situation last longer.
Popular support
“Despite the fact that the two Koreas have separated for over 70 years, the bonds between the two peoples will never cease,” said Kim Deukhwan, deputy spokesperson at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.
However, influenced by some factors in history such as the “comfort women” issue, bonds among nations in Northeast Asia are complex.
Han Wooduck, director of the Institute for Chinese Studies of South Korea’s JoongAngllbo newspaper, is stationed in China as a reporter. Under Han’s supervision, the JoongAngllbo launched a channel called “NAVER China” in cooperation with NAVER, South Korea’s biggest portal website. Han told the Global Times that the South Korean people pay close attention to China-related information.
Han said the young Koreans who have never been to China know little about the real China, and never became aware of the importance of the bilateral relations between South Korea and China. There are about 5 million foreign residents in South Korea, and one fifth of them are from China. According to Han, the South Korean people hope to get a better knowledge about China, but quite a few media in the country are biased when it comes to Chinarelated reports.
US protectionism
South Korean people are mostly interested in reports on the Chinese economy, Son You-min of the Yonhap’s Global Strategy Team told the Global Times.
South Korea’s mainstream media has been awash recently with reports on the China-US trade dispute. They are concerned ripples from the conflict might affect South Korea.
The economy of the South Korea is highly dependent on exports. China and the US are the major overseas markets of the country. According to a saying from the South Korean side, “If China-US trade catches a cold, South Korea sniffs.”
The value of trade between China and Japan hovers at $300 billion, and the value of China-South Korea trade is similar. The establishment of a China-Japan-South Korea free trade zone would be a boon for the three countries.
A voice from the South Korean side said that the trade value between the US and Asian countries keeps increasing, and half of the US trade deficit stems from Asia, mostly China, Japan and South Korea. Therefore, changing the situation is an important goal of the Trump administration. As a result, the three countries have become the target of US trade protectionism and unilateralism.
Because Northeastern Asia is a zone of US interests, the US would not be happy to see the establishment of a free trade zone among the three countries.
The potential for thriving trade in Northeast Asia is under great external pressure.