S. Korea-China relations remain uneasy after APEC

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC Informal Dialogue at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Thursday (local time). Joint Press Corps

Gov't urged to restore bilateral ties ahead of envisaged Seoul-Beijing-Tokyo summit

By Lee Hyo-jin

Strained relations between South Korea and China have ground to a virtual standstill after President Yoon Suk Yeol's attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit ended without a much-anticipated bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, despite discussions to arrange one.

The two leaders had a brief exchange during the multilateral event, but an absence of common agendas made it difficult for them to hold formal talks, analysts said Sunday, calling for diplomatic efforts from the Yoon administration to stabilize relations with the nation's largest trade partner.

Yoon returned home, Saturday, after attending the APEC summit in San Francisco, which invited the leaders of the 21-member regional economic group, including the United States, China and Japan.

There was speculation that Yoon might hold a one-on-one meeting with the Chinese president during his four-day visit, but the two only had a brief conversation. They were spotted exchanging greetings before the start of the APEC Informal Dialogue at Moscone Center, but did not sit down for a one-on-one meeting.

"At the current state, the leaders of South Korea and China do not have new agendas to talk about," Park Seung-chan, a professor of Chinese Studies at Yongin University, told The Korea Times.

"Also, for China's Xi, smoothing out relations with the U.S. seemed to be his top priority at the APEC summit. So holding a summit with South Korea was not part of his plans in the first place."

On the sidelines of the APEC gathering, U.S. President Joe Biden and Xi held a rare four-hour summit on Wednesday, in a sign of cooling tensions between the two superpowers.

Park said the recent fence-mending mood between the U.S. and China creates diplomatic room for South Korea to improve relations with its Asian neighbor.

"Like the U.S-China relationship, South Korea and China should also work toward building constructive relationships based on mutual benefits in areas like the economy and people-to-people exchanges," the professor said.

Bilateral relationship between South Korea and China have strained under Yoon’s presidency as Seoul has been overtly aligning with the U.S. in its diplomacy of pursuing coalitions with countries sharing universal values, a move perceived by China as joining the U.S.' campaign to counter Beijing.

Plus, Beijing has been increasingly wary about Washington’s growing influence in the Northeast Asian region amid quickly strengthening trilateral ties between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin, left, shakes hands with China's Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi during the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Aug.4, 2022. Yonhap

Amid the complicated relations, an upcoming foreign ministerial meeting and an envisaged trilateral summit between Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing would be a turning point in South Korea-China relations, experts said.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China are expected to hold talks in Busan around Nov. 26, which, if held, would pave the way for a trilateral summit of their leaders in Seoul. The three-way summit may be held in December at the earliest.

Kang Joon-young, a professor of Chinese Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, commented that the trilateral summit will serve as a momentum to warm up relations with China.

"Although it is a trilateral meeting, China's No. 2 leader Li Qiang's visit to Seoul will be highly meaningful in Seoul-Beijing bilateral relations. And given that the trilateral summit traditionally focuses on economic and cultural cooperation, there could be some outcomes that will ease tensions between the two nations," Kang said.

While South Korea is expected to demand China's constructive role regarding North Korea's nuclear threats in its upcoming meetings, Kang viewed it unlikely for China to respond with meaningful action.

"It's impossible for the two nations to draw conclusions on sensitive geopolitical issues like North Korea or the Taiwan Strait and both sides should acknowledge that," he said.