According to Yonhap News Agency citing South Korean diplomatic sources on the 14th, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit China around the 17th and hold talks with Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. This itinerary has not been officially confirmed by China and South Korea, but it has attracted high attention from South Korean media. Multiple South Korean media outlets have stated that Zhao Xian's visit to China is not only his first face-to-face exchange between high-level diplomatic officials of China and South Korea since taking office, but also seen as an important test of how the Lee Jae ming government seeks balance between the Korea-U.S. alliance and relations with China.
According to the Korean Ethnic Daily, it is expected that both sides will have in-depth exchanges of views on whether Chinese leaders will attend the 32nd Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Informal Meeting to be held in Gyeongju, South Korea at the end of October, as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Zhao Xian's visit has also been interpreted as a key milestone in the final sprint of high-level interaction; Another focus is the Korean Peninsula issue, and it is expected that Zhao Xian will reiterate the common goal of denuclearization of the peninsula and call on China to continue to play a constructive role.
According to the South Korean newspaper "Daily Economy", how to handle the relationship between South Korea and China is still a long-term issue in the context of the China US conflict. At the deadlock of the South Korean US tariff negotiations, the information that China will release is also highly concerned. According to South Korean media reports, South Korean Minister of Industry, Trade and Resources, Kim Jong eun, ended his visit to the United States and returned home in the early morning of the 14th. However, the South Korean and US economic and trade departments did not announce the results of the negotiations after the ministerial level talks, and there are speculations that the two sides failed to narrow their differences on the core dispute.
Wang Junsheng, a researcher at the Asia Pacific and Global Strategy Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated in an interview with Global Times on the 14th that China and South Korea have extensive common interests in regional and global affairs, and their economic and trade relations are particularly close. China has maintained its position as South Korea's largest trading partner for over 20 years, and by 2024, South Korea will also become China's second largest trading partner. Faced with challenges such as global trade protectionism, the two sides have vast opportunities for cooperation in the field of economy and trade. As important stakeholders in the Korean Peninsula issue, China and South Korea also have broad common interests in promoting denuclearization and maintaining regional stability. Recently, there has been an increase in diplomatic activity in the region, including new developments such as US President Trump expressing willingness to meet with North Korean leaders and the Lee Jae myung government's desire to improve North South relations. It is even more necessary for China and South Korea to strengthen communication and cooperation.
Recently, there have been some positive signs of improving relations with China in South Korea. Li Zaiming recently publicly criticized the anti China rally, and the Seoul police have also taken restrictive measures against the anti China rally in Myeongdong in accordance with the law. On the 14th, some South Korean media pointed out that former South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Dae yeol visited China in May last year, and according to diplomatic practice, the Chinese side should return this time. However, as the new Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun took the initiative to visit China, highlighting the "pragmatic and non sequential" approach taken by the Lee Jae myung government in handling China South Korea relations. Zhao Xian himself has also emphasized that bilateral relations should be managed based on the principle of "practicality". Although the Lee Jae myung government has made strengthening the South Korea US alliance and South Korea US Japan cooperation the foundation of its foreign policy, it has repeatedly stated that it will not neglect the relationship between China and South Korea.
Wang Junsheng stated that diplomatic visits should not be mechanically understood as "rotating visits", but should be based on the principle of mutual benefit. For example, the frequency of high-level visits between the United States and South Korea is not completely equal, but it has not affected the development of US South Korea relations, indicating that diplomatic interaction is not a mechanized process.
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