Amid the rapprochement between Russia and the DPRK, expectations are growing in South Korea that the relative cooling in relations between Seoul and Beijing may be replaced by a warming. It is true that the level of official contacts has increased this year, but it is too early to talk about a détente.
Contacts between top officials
Xi Jinping, for his part, “drew attention to the significant changes in the international and regional situation,” pointing out that “Beijing and Seoul should pursue the course of good-neighborliness and friendship, the principles of mutual benefit and coexistence, making effective use of the advantages of geographical proximity, cultural communication and mutual integration.” The Chinese General Secretary characterized the current state of relations between China and South Korea as steadily developing, and expressed his willingness to develop them and continue them further.
The next meeting, or rather, the “long-awaited visit of the Chinese leader to South Korea,” something that Seoul has been seeking for a very long time, should take place in 2025, in the context of the APEC summit in South Korea’s Gyeongju. If the summit is combined with an official visit by the Chinese leader, rather than just another meeting on the sidelines, then this will be a milestone in bilateral relations.
Earlier, during a trilateral summit between the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leaders, Yoon Suk-yeol met with Premier Li Qiang, head of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. As a result, the 2 2 foreign policy and security dialogue mechanism (meetings between the foreign and defense ministers) and the strategic dialogue at the deputy ministerial level were resumed. However, the call for Beijing to “go beyond the bilateral agenda” and “cooperate closely for the peace and prosperity of the international community in today’s complex geopolitical crisis” (read, put pressure on Pyongyang) went unanswered. Moreover, Li Qiang said that China insists on a political solution and the countries involved, especially the ROK and the DPRK, should exercise restraint to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
Exchange of delegations at a lower level
In 2024, South Korea and China marked the 32nd anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. However, there have been no official commemorations, and typically........