Korea pressured by rising US-China competition
Beijing has restricted trade and tourism with Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Norway, the Philippines and others in an effort to interfere in these countries’ internal political and judicial processes.
The escalating U.S.-China tension is emerging as a key diplomatic challenge for Korea.
During a recent lecture, Kim Hyon-chong, second deputy director of the presidential National Security Office (NSO), reportedly broached the concerns faced by Korea in the post-COVID-19 period due to Korea’s geopolitical situation, including the U.S.-China conflict.
The lecture, which was organized by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) for its lawmakers-elect on May 22, was not disclosed to the public. But according to participants from the DPK, the deputy NSO chief talked about concerns rising from the U.S.-China competition.
It was considered rare for a Cheong Wa Dae official to mention the U.S-China conflict and its implications for Korean diplomacy, given Cheong Wa Dae officials and President Moon Jae-in have avoided publicly mentioning the issue.
President Moon has placed utmost priority on realizing a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, first for economic reasons and second, for moving along inter-Korean projects.
During a recent phone call on May 13, Xi reaffirmed his commitment to visiting Korea this year, according to the presidential office. Cheong Wa Dae has also underscored that the two leaders have been maintaining close contact since the outbreak of the pandemic, and the bilateral cooperation has resulted in some visible outcomes such as simplified entry procedures for Koreans visiting China on business.
Despite these important developments in bilateral relations and even the possibility of a visit by Xi to Korea for the first time in six years, speculations are rising that the Moon administration is not sufficiently prepared to deal with the rising U.S.-China competition, particularly for more influence on Northeast Asia.
There was not any mention of the geopolitical situation in Moon’s recent national address to mark the third anniversary of his inauguration, and the President instead repeated his stance that he will do what he can to push ahead with inter-Korean projects this year.
It is noticeable that the conflict between the U.S. and China has been intensifying over the past week, as Beijing signaled a tightening of control over Hong Kong with a proposal to impose new national security legislation.
The move has prompted criticisms from U.S. officials and lawmakers. “The United States condemns the People’s Republic of China (PRC) National People’s Congress proposal to unilaterally and arbitrarily impose national security legislation on Hong Kong,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, May 22.
Beijing has lashed out at Washington for interfering in its internal affairs.
The U.S.-China row over Hong Kong came as the Donald Trump administration delivered its Strategic Approach to China report to Congress.
The report highlights that China harms U.S. interests and undermines the “sovereignty and dignity of countries and individuals around the world.”
“The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) rapid economic development and increased engagement with the world did not lead to convergence with the citizen-centric, free and open order as the United States had hoped,” the report said. “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has chosen instead to exploit the free and open rules based order and attempt to reshape the international system in its favor.”
Korea’s dilemma
In particular, the report highlights Korea as one of the victim of its undue political influence.
“Beijing uses a combination of threat and inducement to pressure governments, elites, corporations, think tanks, and others — often in an opaque manner — to toe the CCP line and censor free expression. Beijing has restricted trade and tourism with Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Norway, the Philippines, and others, and has detained Canadian citizens, in an effort to interfere in these countries’ internal political and judicial processes.”
The report is also critical of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Speculations are rising that Korea will face increasing pressure to choose between the U.S. and China as both countries see Korea as an important partner for expanding their influence in the region and are expected to seek Korea’s participation in their respective regional strategies for economic and political interests.
President Moon has shown support for Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy and also China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The U.S. is Korea’s most important ally, but for the Moon administration, fostering better relations with China, a key trading partner, is an urgent issue.
Given the rising pressure from China, the importance of KoreaU.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation has also been increasingly highlighted.
But this has not been easy, with Korea and Japan still being unable to resolve differences over trade, history and security issues.
The U.S.-Korea alliance remains strong, but the prolonged negotiations for determining the costs for maintaining U.S. troops in Korea has raised concerns about a weakening of the alliance.