China tries to prevent South Korea from joining US-led coalition

President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan during their meeting in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Yoon's strong commitment to Korea-US alliance, ironically, bolsters leverage in ties with China

By Kang Seung-woo

Chinese leader Xi Jinping's invitation to President Yoon Suk-yeol on the day of his inauguration reflects Beijing's attempt to keep Seoul from getting closer to Washington amid an ever-intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.

In an unprecedented move, China's Vice President Wang Qishan, the highest-level official sent by the Chinese government to Seoul on the occasion of Korea's leadership change, made the invitation public following his meeting with Yoon, Tuesday.

In response, Yoon thanked Xi for the invitation, adding that he was looking forward to meeting his Chinese counterpart in Seoul. Xi's unexpected invitation came just ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's scheduled visit to Seoul. Yoon and Biden will hold their first summit in Seoul, May 21

"Given that the Yoon administration is seeking to strengthen its alliance with the United States or bolster trilateral cooperation among Korea, the U.S. and Japan as the priority of its foreign policy direction, which is drastically different from the Moon Jae-in government's balanced diplomacy, the Chinese government wants the new Korean government to at least maintain its existing stance," said Chung Jae-hung, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute.

Under the Moon administration, Korea walked a tightrope between its security ally, the U.S., and largest trade partner, China, avoiding joining the Washington-led anti-Beijing coalition. Wielding its economic status, Beijing has also made efforts to have Seoul distance itself from Washington as it perceives Korea as the weakest link in the U.S. alliance network. Such efforts appear to have paid off.

However, Yoon has vowed to make a shift in diplomacy and place the alignment with Washington at the center of his foreign policy priorities.

"The Wang dispatch and his remarks reflect the Chinese government's concerns that the new Korean government may turn away from the balanced diplomacy and support the U.S.' anti-China alliance," Chung added.

During his meeting with Yoon, Wang suggested five proposals for Korea-China relations, one of which said the two sides should jointly boost coordination and cooperation on affairs related to the Korean Peninsula, while appropriately handling sensitive issues. Those remarks appeared to be mindful of possible Korean support for the anti-China platforms.

"There are a bulk of the U.S.-led platforms, aimed at containing China, and there are the Quad, the envisaged Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, AUKUS and of course, THAAD," Chung said.

AUKUS is an enhanced trilateral security partnership, comprised of Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. and THAAD stands for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, a U.S. anti-missile shield.

"For China's part, it hopes that the Korean government will not join them," Chung added.

Lee Sang-man, director of the China Center at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, believes that it is time to re-establish Korea's relations with China under the Yoon administration, saying that Seoul has secured initial leverage in bilateral ties.

"Yoon's strong rhetoric that his administration will closely work with the U.S. in terms of its foreign policy has struck a nerve in the Chinese government, which pre-emptively made a gesture by sending Wang, Xi's so-called right-hand man, to the inauguration ceremony," said Lee, who previously denounced Yoon's anti-China remarks as being "unrealistic."

"For now, we have gained leverage, giving us more room to maneuver."

Saying the Yoon administration is filled with experts on U.S. relations who are hostile toward China, Korea needs to flexibly take advantage of the current situation in its relations with China, while standing firm in response to possible economic retaliation, Lee noted.

Since Korea approved the deployment of a THAAD battery on its soil in 2016, China has been carrying out an economic retaliation campaign by imposing unofficial boycotts on Korean products and enforcing tourism restrictions. China claims that the system's radar can be used to spy on its military maneuvers.

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