Stronger Sino-ROK ties vowed
Yoon’s inauguration sees the two sides outline their aim to take relations to a higher level
China and the Republic of Korea have vowed to further advance their strategic cooperative partnership, and to strengthen their communication and coordination on the Korean Peninsula issue in order to denuclearize the peninsula and promote lasting peace and prosperity.
Vice-President Wang Qishan and the ROK’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, made the pledge on May 10 during a meeting in Seoul. They agreed that the two countries would maintain close strategic communication and high-level exchanges and enhance bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields to bring the countries’ ties to a higher level.
Wang was visiting the ROK as President Xi Jinping’s special representative to attend Yoon’s presidential inauguration ceremony at the invitation of the ROK government. Xi had a telephone conversation with Yoon in March after the latter won the presidential election, and they vowed to work together to forge a closer and more productive partnership between Beijing and Seoul.
During his meeting with Yoon, Wang extended Xi’s cordial greetings and best wishes to him, saying that since they established diplomatic relations 30 years ago, China and the ROK have achieved rapid development in their ties with increasing shared interests.
Against the backdrop of the evolution of the international landscape and the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that it has become more important to strengthen China-ROK cooperation for the benefit of both sides, the region and the world at large.
He underlined the importance of cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and said the two countries should take this year’s 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to promote friendship between the two peoples in order to inject more positive energy into their relations.
Wang called for strengthened communication and coordination between China and the ROK on international and regional affairs, saying the two sides should work together to uphold multilateralism and the freetrade system to bolster regional and global development and prosperity.
On the Korean Peninsula issue, Wang said China sincerely hopes that both sides of the Korean Peninsula can improve their relations and advance reconciliation and cooperation. China stands ready to intensify communication with the ROK to realize a nuclear-free peninsula and promote its long-lasting peace, he added.
Yoon asked Wang to convey his sincere thanks and greetings to President Xi, and said that over the past three decades, ROK-China relations have developed rapidly and robustly. He noted that bilateral trade has reached a new high despite the pandemic.
The ROK wants to further strengthen bilateral exchanges and pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields, boost the friendship between the two peoples and open up a new era for ROK-China relations, Yoon added.
In his inauguration speech for a five-year term, Yoon vowed to leave the door open for the peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula’s nuclear issue with dialogue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Lee Jung-tae, a professor in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Kyungpook National University in the ROK, told China Daily: “The key point of Yoon’s speech is a proposal for China, Japan and other regional countries to unite and cooperate freely to overcome difficulties.”
Kim Byoung-joo, a professor in International Relations and Political Science at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management in the ROK, said Yoon’s speech suggests that his administration will reduce government intervention, with an aim to stimulate socio-economic growth.
“He (Yoon) made it clear in his speech that he believes … expansion of the economy is the best way to address all the problems that we have seen so far,” Kim said.
While it was “quite unusual” for Yoon to address both the ROK citizens and the 7.5 million Korean diaspora across the world, the president also touched on international issues such as COVID-19, said Hoo Chiew-Ping, senior lecturer in strategic studies and international relations at the National University of Malaysia.
She said the ROK has been enhancing its investment in the region and it now wants to increase its role in the global supply chain, which has been under stress due to various factors.
On May 9, Wang also met with the ROK’s former president, Moon Jae-in, in Seoul.