Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming said on the 11th that improving Korea-China relations is “not an option, but an essential issue that both countries must resolve.”
Ambassador Singh attended the ‘2023 Korea-China Media Forum’ held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul under the theme of ‘Search for a new direction for mutual benefit between Korea and China’ this morning, and in his congratulatory speech, he said, “The relationship between China and Korea continues to be one of friendly cooperation.” “We are heading in the direction of Iran,” he said.
In particular, he held a meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Chang on the occasion of the ASEAN-related summit last September, and a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo at the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG). ) Citing attendance at the opening ceremony and talks, he evaluated that “the relationship between China and Korea has developed stably over the past year.”
Ambassador Singh continued, “There is more room for development in economic exchange between the two countries. “People-to-people exchanges are also recovering,” he said. “The ‘win-win’ relationship between the two countries remains unchanged. “The desire for joint development is also unwavering,” he emphasized.
Since President Yoon Seok-yeol took office in May last year, our government has placed the top foreign policy priority on ‘strengthening and developing the ROK-US alliance’ and has focused on improving Korea-Japan relations this year. Because of this, the relationship with China was evaluated as relatively ‘estranged’.
However, as high-level exchanges between Korea and China began in earnest starting in the second half of this year, the relationship between the two countries is also showing signs of gradual improvement.
Last month, the Korea-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting between Foreign Minister Park Jin and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Korea-Japan-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting including Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa were held in Busan. Korea, Japan, and China are discussing ways to hold a summit in Korea as early as next year.
In relation to this, Ambassador Singh said at the Korea-China meeting on the sidelines of the Korea-Japan-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that “the two countries have decided to continue to develop their strategic cooperative partnership” and that “we must lead the development of the relationship between the two countries well.”
In response to a question about holding a Korea-Japan-China summit, Ambassador Singh repeatedly emphasized that the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries was reaffirmed at the Korea-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and replied, “It is most important to promote bilateral relations in that direction.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously revealed in the results of the trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting that “we agreed to create ‘conditions’ for the summit and expedite related preparations,” suggesting that, unlike Korea and Japan, they are “passive” on the issue of holding the summit early. Observations have also been raised.
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.