It is reported that Prime Minister Han Deok-soo will request President Xi Jinping to visit Korea during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that will be held on the 23rd on the occasion of attending the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. President Xi has not visited Korea for nine years since he visited Korea in July 2014 and held a summit meeting with then-President Park Geun-hye. With North Korea and Russia in close contact in response to the institutionalization of Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, attention is being paid to whether top-level communication between South Korea and China will provide an opportunity to provide a breakthrough in the strained relationship between the two countries.
According to government officials on the 22nd, it is highly likely that the meeting between Prime Minister Han and President Xi will be held on the afternoon of the 23rd. President Xi, who is scheduled to hold a meeting with representatives of each country attending the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, will also hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Han before and after the opening ceremony. On the surface, it is a celebration of China’s hosting of the Asian Games, but the actual meeting is likely to discuss major issues between the two countries, including this year’s Korea-China-Japan summit and President Xi’s visit to Korea. A government official said, “An invitation for President Xi to visit Korea is on the agenda for the meeting.”
Following President Yoon Seok-yeol’s message to Ambassador to China Jeong Jae-ho in April that he was “looking forward to a visit to Korea within the year,” Prime Minister Han also repeatedly called for President Xi to visit Korea. President Xi met with President Yoon in Bali, Indonesia in November last year and said, “I have not been able to visit Korea due to the coronavirus pandemic, but I will gladly accept President Yoon’s invitation to visit Korea once the coronavirus situation stabilizes to some extent.”
It has been reported that some in the government are also discussing suggesting that President Xi, rather than Chinese Premier Li Chang, visit Korea for the Korea-Japan-China summit that is being held in December of this year.
The meeting between Prime Minister Han and President Xi has the meaning of an opportunity to restore the relationship between the two countries, which has been strained since the inauguration of the current government, including Chinese Ambassador It is also the highest-level meeting held 16 days after President Yoon met with Prime Minister Lee on the occasion of the ASEAN+3 (Korea, China, and Japan) Summit held in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 7th. After the institutionalization of security cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan, high-level meetings between Korea and China continued, showing a clear trend toward restoring relations.
A government source said, “The fact that the Prime Minister is personally attending the opening ceremony of the Asian Games clearly shows that our government considers Korea-China relations important,” and added, “President Yoon expressed his intention to revitalize Korea-China relations to Prime Minister Lee, and the subsequent meeting was held in Hangzhou. “This confirms once again the will of the summit,” he said.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Han is expected to request China’s active cooperation in the Korea-China-Japan summit, which was suspended after the meeting in Chengdu, China in December 2019 but is being promoted with the goal of being held in Seoul this December. Prime Minister Han is also expected to deliver a message to President Xi to resolve the strained relations between Korea and China, including restoring high-level cooperation between the governments of South Korea and China.
Immediately after the bilateral talks, on the 25th and 26th of this month, a meeting at the deputy director level of the foreign affairs authorities between Korea, China and Japan and a senior management meeting (SOM) at the assistant minister level will be held in succession to coordinate the timing and expected agenda of the Korea, China and Japan summit. A meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries is also scheduled to be held as early as next month.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.