Global Courant
SEOUL — South Korea could be making “wrong bets” in the Sino-US rivalry, said China’s ambassador to Seoul, urging Seoul to stop “decoupling” from China and restore economic and diplomatic ties.
Mr Xing Haiming made the remarks during a meeting late Thursday with Mr Lee Jae-myung, head of South Korea’s main opposition party, who has criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol for pursuing lopsided diplomacy towards the US alliance against detrimental to relations with China. its main trading partner.
Xing blamed Seoul for creating “difficulties” for bilateral relations by failing to respect Beijing’s core interests, including Taiwan, while being influenced by the United States.
“Relations between China and South Korea are fraught with many problems. Frankly, China is not to blame,” he said, according to a statement from the embassy. “We hope that the South Korean side will faithfully fulfill its promise and clearly respect China’s main concerns, such as the Taiwan issue.”
Mr Xing warned against making a “misjudgment” about China due to “interference from external factors” such as pressure from the US.
“In a situation where the United States is pushing China with all its might, some are betting that the United States will win and China will lose. This is clearly a misjudgment and an inability to properly understand the course of history,” he said. “I can assure you, those who bet on China’s defeat will surely regret it.”
Mr. Yoon’s office and the Seoul Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr Yoon has acted cautiously amid growing competition between the US and China, but Seoul and Beijing exchanged heated words in April over Mr Yoon’s comments about Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province in need of reunited, by force if necessary.
In an interview with Reuters, Mr. Yoon said that the flared tensions around Taiwan were due to attempts to change the status quo by force, and that he opposed such a change.
Mr Xing said South Korea’s trade deficits have worsened due to its efforts to “decouple” from China, but that it could “enjoy the bonus” of China’s economic growth if its confidence in bilateral ties is restored.
“The two countries have built an inseparable economic structure in which their industrial and supply chains are closely linked,” he said. REUTERS
