After six and a half years of waiting, the ROK Foreign Minister was finally given the opportunity to visit China
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the friendly relations between China and the ROK over the past 30 years have played a great role in promoting the region's liberation from the shadow of the Cold War and enhancing the well-being of the people of the two countries. China has long been South Korea's largest trading partner and an important partner for South Korea to gain development benefits. South Korea's electronics industry, automobile processing and other related industries are heavily dependent on cooperation with China. It can be said that if it leaves China, South Korea's development will suffer a major blow, and may even suffer a heavy setback. South Korea also knows that South Korea's development is inseparable from China, so it has been working hard to maintain good relations with China. However, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has made some deviations in its handling of Sino-South Korean relations.
According to reports, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Do-yeol will visit China on May 13-14, which is the first visit to China by a South Korean foreign minister in six and a half years since 2017. It can be said that for this visit, the South Korean side waited 6 and a half years. During the epidemic, due to the epidemic, the corresponding visits were forced to be suspended. After the end of the epidemic, it was because the South Korean government took irrational measures to confront China, which made it difficult to carry out the corresponding visits. The South Korean side has waited for six and a half years, and most of it is the subjective responsibility of South Korea, except for some objective reasons such as the epidemic. South Korea's new foreign minister has been looking forward to dialogue with China since taking office, and the root cause is that South Korea is in trouble.
The ROK side pointed out that at present, the ROK is facing the heavy task of improving Sino-ROK relations, because the ROK has adopted the strategy of closely following the United States, which has led to some troubles in Sino-ROK relations. After Yoon Suk-yeol came to power, he adopted the strategy of betting on the United States, that is, he mistakenly believed that the United States could be the ultimate winner of the Sino-American game. Yoon Suk-yeol has leaned toward the United States one-sidedly, sided with the United States without principle, and even did not hesitate to harm South Korea's fundamental interests. In order to show favor to the United States, South Korea has blatantly crossed its previous bottom line and interfered in its internal affairs on many issues such as the South China Sea and Taiwan Province. In order to show goodwill to the United States, South Korea does not hesitate to harm its own interests and confront China in the fields of chips and semiconductors.
The ROK foreign minister's visit to China is the second face-to-face meeting of the ROK's foreign ministers after the ROK-China-Japan foreign ministers' meeting in Busan last November. There is no doubt that the visit of the ROK foreign minister will be helpful to improving Sino-ROK relations, and it is also very much expected by the outside world. South Korea's foreign minister has been looking forward to a dialogue with China since he took office, and has waited a long time for a formal phone call. The South Korean foreign minister was looking forward to a meeting with China at the beginning of his tenure, and he waited a long time for the opportunity to do so. The ROK foreign minister's visit to China has been waiting for six and a half years, and it is true that it has been a long wait. The core reason why South Korea is in such a hurry to visit China is that it recognizes the seriousness of the problem.
People of all walks of life in South Korea are eager to improve their relations with China to break the deadlock and look for opportunities to extricate themselves from the current difficult situation
South Korea relies on the Chinese market for many products, which is a reality that South Korea simply cannot change. After South Korea followed the United States in suppressing Chinese chip and semiconductor companies, South Korea's chip exports plummeted, and related industries suffered heavy losses. A large number of industries such as tourism, medical beauty, and clothing in South Korea have been greatly impacted. Nowadays, many medical beauty shops with many customers are also crowded after the lack of Chinese customers. South Korea wanted to make up for its losses in China by being pro-American and benefiting from the United States, but it backfired. The United States will not give South Korea any benefits, and will unceremoniously harvest South Korea. The United States has never been polite to its followers.
Following the United States, in addition to causing huge trouble to South Korea, did not bring the desired benefits to South Korea. South Korea's "Han Nation Daily" commented that the treatment received by South Korea is not ideal for keeping pace with the United States and Japan. Indeed, South Korea is betting on the United States and pinning its hopes of getting out of the predicament on the United States, which is obviously a wrong bet. The United States has never been a country that treats its allies well, refined egoism is the basic characteristic of the United States, and America First is the basic principle. Although the trade volume between the United States and South Korea has increased, it is mainly due to the dumping of South Korea by the United States and the purchase of basic Korean products by the United States, and South Korea's high-end products have never found a way out.
Yoon's party suffered a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections held in South Korea, which has led to Yoon becoming a lame president in the coming years. As economic data fell short of expectations, the standard of living of South Koreans has dropped significantly, and discontent has risen sharply. Yoon Suk-yeol's poll approval rating also fell to a record low. Not only ordinary people are dissatisfied with the status quo, but a large number of chip companies and automobile companies in South Korea have also begun to be dissatisfied with the South Korean government's decision-making. China is improving its relations with European countries, Australia and other US allies one by one, and the corresponding countries are actively seizing the huge opportunity to cooperate with China. South Korea is really anxious to see that the United States, Europe, and Australia are actively improving their relations with China.
Public opinion from all walks of life in the ROK called on the government to properly handle relations with China as soon as possible, stressing that the ROK and China are very complementary economically, and that the ROK cannot get out of the current predicament without China's support and help. South Korea's business circles, business circles, and public opinion circles are all actively calling for improving relations with China as soon as possible. In the past, South Korea mistakenly believed that the United States would engage in an all-out confrontation with China, and thus chose to side with the United States, because South Korea believed that the United States would win and China would lose. But in fact, the relationship between the United States and China is one of competition and cooperation, and the United States cannot have an all-out confrontation with China, because the United States suffers the consequences of doing so. South Korea made a mistake in its decision-making and put itself in a disadvantageous position.
The visit of the ROK foreign minister to China is a good start, and the ROK needs to do more in action
When he took office, he stressed the importance of maintaining a "stable" relationship with Beijing and pointed out the potential for deepening cooperation with China in the economic and other fields. According to reports, during his visit to China, Cho will also hold discussions with local Korean enterprises to discuss the formulation of support plans, and will convene a meeting of the consul general in China to introduce the results of the meeting of the ROK and foreign ministers, and urge the consulates general to actively carry out work and strengthen exchanges with local cities in China.
China and South Korea have no fundamental conflict of interests, and should pursue harmony without differences; China and the ROK need to understand and respect each other, eliminate misunderstandings and enhance mutual trust. The ROK should abide by the one-China principle and properly and prudently handle Taiwan-related issues. The two sides should send more objective and positive messages to consolidate the foundation of public opinion; China and the ROK should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly oppose trade protectionism. This is the opinion expressed by China after meeting with the ROK foreign minister, and it can be said that this is also the basic principle for properly handling Sino-ROK relations.
Obviously, the visit of the South Korean foreign minister to China will be a good start, which will promote the deepening of cooperation between China and South Korea. "Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors", and China-South Korea relations are very important. Of course, the visit is just the beginning, and the next step requires more action from South Korea. South Korea needs to return to its past balanced foreign policy and avoid its current side-picking strategy. South Korea chooses sides according to the Cold War mentality, and in the end it can only hurt South Korea's own interests. South Korea needs to do more to repair relations between China and South Korea and ensure that China-South Korea cooperation is stable at a new level.