China stays relatively quiet on S. Korea-US summit’s take on Taiwan

May 26, 2021, 09:21 am

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President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping during Seoul-Beijing summit held in Beijing, China, on December 2019./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporters Lee Jang-won & Lee Wook-jae

China’s response towards the latest Seoul-Washington summit agreement that included references to the Taiwan Strait was not as intense as expected. China is seemingly refraining from making official comments aside from the displeasure expressed by its foreign ministry spokesperson, who said Taiwan is “purely” China’s internal affairs and that the country won’t tolerate infringement on sovereign matters by outside forces. It seems China is managing the situation considering that the Seoul-Washington statement was softer than the US-Japan statement issued in April.

The Blue House dismissed speculation that China may launch another round of economic retaliation against South Korea. Experts say there is still possibility of China’s economic revenge depending on South Korea’s diplomatic stance. They point out South Korea needs consistent diplomacy to balance relations with China and the United States.

“South Korea has not completely given up its position to maintain balanced diplomacy between the US and China in the latest joint statement,” China’s state-owned newspaper Global Times said Tuesday, citing experts. “The United States took more, but it has not changed South Korea’s diplomatic position,” Global Times said.

Regarding China’s possible economic revenge against Seoul, Lee Ho-seung, President Moon Jae-in’s chief of staff for policy, said during a radio interview Tuesday that such speculation is based on “excessively premature prediction.” On the mention of the Taiwan Strait in the joint statement, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Tuesday that it was a “very fundamental and principled content.”

Experts say the possibility of immediate pressure from China remains low. However, they also point out South Korea’s diplomacy towards China is not as optimistic as the government’s view.

“China is not going to openly express resentment and impose pressure,” Kim Heung-kyu, the head of the U.S.-China Policy Institute at Ajou University, said in a phone interview with AsiaToday. “There are many variables coming, such as upgrading the THAAD system, leaving a big challenge for South Korea’s diplomacy towards China.

“China cannot give up the Taiwan issue, and both the United States and South Korea touched the issue,” said prof. Hwang Byung-moo of Korea National Defense University. “It is not easy for China to put more pressure on South Korea, but there is a possibility of economic sanctions at a modest level.”

Regarding the direction of South Korea’s response, prof. Hwang said the country’s diplomacy needs to stick to principles. “We must respond cast by case based on national interests,” he said. “While cooperating with China as a general rule, we must prevent unnecessary disadvantages by classifying the agenda of confrontation and conflicts.”

#China #Moon Jae-in #Biden #summit #Taiwan Strait