Recently, the news that the ROK foreign minister is in a hurry to visit China since he slapped himself in the face has aroused widespread attention.
According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 10, at the invitation of Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Doi-yeol will visit China from May 13 to 14.
The new ROK foreign minister's visit to China will not only affect the nerves of China and the ROK, but will also have a far-reaching impact on the stability and development of the entire Northeast Asian region.
According to South Korean media, China-South Korea bilateral relations and the North Korean issue are expected to be the focus of discussions between the two sides. So what is the reason for the South Korean Foreign Minister's visit to China? Is it really the situation that forced South Korea to adjust its China policy?
In fact, behind this, there are not only subtle changes in the domestic political situation in South Korea, but also the promotion of the international situation, and the thoughtful thinking of the leaders of China and South Korea about the future direction of bilateral relations.
In the early days of its administration, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration adopted a series of pro-US and anti-China policies, becoming the vanguard of the anti-China efforts of the Americans, and even making irresponsible remarks on the Taiwan issue, which other South Korean presidents have always been smart to keep their mouths shut, while President Yoon's blind follower of his big brother in the United States has already put itself in a dilemma in domestic and foreign affairs.
As pointed out by the South Korean media, although South Korea has engaged in "unconditional joint diplomacy" with the United States and other Western countries, the treatment it has received is actually not ideal, and there have been voices of reflection in South Korea about this.
The 22nd National Assembly election came to an end in April this year, and the Democratic Party of Korea and its satellite parties won a total of 175 seats, significantly ahead of the ruling People's Power Party and its satellite parties, and maintained its position as the largest party in the National Assembly.
The results of this parliamentary election have undoubtedly put the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in a "lame duck" situation of "going to the small field" and hindering the government's vision of advancing the second half of his term.
After the election, South Korea's "first lady" Kim Keon-hee was investigated, which also made Yoon Suk-yeol's prospects in power "worse". According to foreign media reports on May 4, South Korea's prosecutor general Lee Won-seok has issued instructions to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for investigating Kim Jianxi's acceptance of brand-name bags, requesting the formation of a special investigation team to investigate.
This incident is likely to be the first "domino" to bring down Yoon Suk-yeol. You must know that being investigated by the South Korean prosecutor general is quite serious.
South Korea's economic situation is also not optimistic, with the won depreciating against the US dollar by more than 5% so far this year, making it one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia, second only to the Thai baht and the yen.
South Korea is currently facing the dual dilemma of rising inflation and economic stagnation, and Yoon Suk-yeol urgently needs to change his hardline course towards China.
China is South Korea's largest trading partner and largest export market, and the two economies are highly integrated, so South Korea needs to strengthen cooperation with China to ease economic pressure.
According to the results released by the South Korean polling agency Realmeter at the beginning of the month, President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rate for his administration was 30.3%, hovering between 30% and 35% for four consecutive weeks, and the negative rating was as high as 65.5%.
Lee Jae-myung, as a representative of the "pro-China faction", has also influenced the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's China policy with his pragmatic attitude toward China-South Korea relations. On the one hand, the "pro-China faction" has provided an opportunity for the improvement of Sino-South Korean relations, and on the other hand, it has also put pressure on the "one-sided" Yoon Suk-yeol administration's China policy.
Lee Jae-myung, who has strongly criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's foreign policy toward China, questioned the administration's stance on China: Why provoke China? What does the Taiwan issue have to do with South Korea?
In August last year, Lee Jae-myung even went on a hunger strike for 24 days to protest Yoon Suk-yeol's administration, and was eventually sent to the hospital for treatment due to his deteriorating health. This fierce political struggle and confrontation has undoubtedly made President Yoon Suk-yeol's path to power more difficult.
Internationally, China's communication with the United States and other Western countries is also resuming, such as the visits of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the foreign ministers of Argentina, Peru and Bolivia.
During the visit of the Chinese leader to France, the two sides signed 18 cooperation agreements, and Macron also said that France cannot be separated from China's development......
China's growing diplomatic activity has also led to a rebound in relations with Europe and the United States, and there have been growing calls for a balanced diplomacy in South Korea.
The "Hankyoreh Daily" commented that the treatment received by South Korea is not ideal for keeping pace with the United States and Japan. And China is improving its relations with European countries, Australia and other US allies one by one.
It can be seen from this that South Korean society realizes that stable economic development can only be achieved by maintaining good relations with China.
In addition, the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is not optimistic, and North Korea has successively abolished a series of important institutions against South Korea, and has regarded South Korea as an enemy and no longer talks about peace.
The DPRK successfully test-fired the Hwasong-18 intercontinental missile on several occasions last year, and the commander of the North American Air Defense Command recently bluntly said at a congressional hearing that "the United States does not know how much of the DPRK's ICBM stockpile" and said that the DPRK "may already have an ICBM stockpile that is close to the limit of US defense."
North Korea's refusal to back down in the face of provocations from the United States and South Korea, and its increasingly assertive countermeasures, have severely damaged Yoon's image to the outside world.
North Korea's series of actions and the U.S. statements also reveal various risks, that is, if South Korea continues to maintain a tough stance on North Korea, the crisis on the Korean Peninsula will escalate to an uncontrollable level, and the United States is likely to withdraw from the situation for fear of being attacked by North Korean missiles, and South Korea will be in a difficult situation at that time.
In addition, the preparations for the trilateral summit between China, Japan, and the ROK have also provided new opportunities for the improvement of Sino-ROK relations. The summit is the first time in four years that China, Japan and the ROK have come together, and the ROK, as the rotating chairman, has actively promoted the preparations for the summit, and Japan will also actively participate in the discussions and consultations at the summit.
In addition, in February this year, Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Cho Dui-yeol, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi invited the South Korean foreign minister to visit China, stressing that "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors". Cho said that ROK-China relations are very important. Against the backdrop of twists and turns in China-ROK relations, Foreign Minister Wang Yi's invitation and Zhao Duiyeol's positive response seem to indicate that the relationship between the two countries may usher in a new turning point.
In the face of the fact that China and the ROK are bound to continue to cooperate, the United States will certainly continue to fan the flames and continue to play demons. Therefore, it will not be easy for the Yoon Suk-yeol government to change its China policy, so it will require the South Korean government to show courage and wisdom to deal with the current predicament.
As the domestic political situation changes, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has begun to re-examine its foreign policy, especially its attitude towards China.
When he took office, Zhao stressed the importance of maintaining a "stable" relationship with Beijing, noting the potential for deeper cooperation with China in the economic and other fields.
Judging from the ROK Foreign Minister's initiative to visit China, it seems that the ROK has taken the first step.
As far as Sino-South Korean relations are concerned, the United States has always been regarded as the "elephant in the room," but although South Korea has often voiced the "China threat theory" under the influence of the United States and Japan, South Korea is a neighbor that China cannot move away from after all.
It is worth noting that China-ROK relations are still facing many challenges. If we want to solve these problems fundamentally, we cannot achieve them in a single visit. As for whether the relations between the two countries can be improved and can be carried out steadily and in the long run, it depends on the sincerity of the ROK Government.
The picture comes from the Internet