Why Chinese foreign minister’s trip to South Korea ‘dealt a low blow’ to Seoul
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, concluded his visit to South Korea on Friday, but declined to back Seoul’s push for multiparty peace talks involving the North. His two‑day trip, which followed President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Pyongyang in seven years in June, coincided with US President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea and call for further talks…
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited South Korea for two days in August, but his mission faced criticism as he did not support Seoul's calls for multiparty peace talks involving North Korea. This came after President Xi Jinping's June trip to Pyongyang and the US decision to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. North Korea responded to the talks with over 10 short-range missile launches, leading to an emergency security meeting in Seoul.
Wang urged Seoul to pursue "genuine strategic autonomy" and develop relations with Beijing and Washington "in a mutually compatible manner". Despite both sides claiming bilateral ties were "fully recovered", Wang's visit was seen as a low blow to South Korea. Joo Jae-woo, a China studies professor, argued that Wang's visit dealt a blow to Seoul's efforts to improve relations with Beijing.
He said Wang's comments indicated Beijing was now ready to accept North Korea's two-state policy, which could undermine prospects for US-North Korea dialogue. Experts warned that Wang's visit undermined efforts for dialogue among South Korea, North Korea, and the US.
Written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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