China News Service, Beijing, August 10 (Reporter Huang Yuqin) As China and South Korea are about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Qingdao, Shandong on the 9th with visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin.
This visit is Park Jin's first visit to China since he took office as the foreign minister of South Korea, and it is also the first high-level delegation to visit China after the new South Korean government took office.
Although this is the first visit to China, the foreign ministers of China and the ROK have conducted many online and offline meetings from the bilateral video meeting in May this year, to the meeting during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in July, and to the ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting in August. times of communication.
The face-to-face talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Qingdao, Shandong have a special meaning to the outside world.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin has a lot of roots in Shandong and served as an honorary professor at Shandong University. Qingdao is also an important hub for economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea.
Some analysts believe that at the special moment when China-South Korea relations have entered the "thirties", the foreign ministers of the two countries took Qingdao, Shandong as the meeting place, which shows the importance both sides attach to current exchanges and cooperation.
In addition to the special time node of "Standing at Thirty", the security situation in East Asia has also attracted the attention of the outside world on the new South Korean foreign minister's first visit to China.
Just before Park Zhen's visit to China this time, the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan region of China made the situation in the region abruptly tense and added uncertainty to the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific.
The outside world has noticed that among U.S. allies, South Korea was the first to call on all parties to exercise restraint.
When Pelosi arrived in South Korea from Taipei on the evening of August 3, the main officials of the Presidential Palace of South Korea and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not pick up the plane.
In this regard, some comments pointed out that South Korea's move created a positive external environment for Park Zhen's visit to China, and maintained a certain degree of independence in developing relations with China.
During the talks with Park Zhen, Wang Yi proposed that China-ROK relations need to adhere to five "shoulds" for the next 30 years. It is the greatest common divisor of the will of the two peoples.
"At a critical moment when the new South Korean government is planning its China policy, the external factors imposed by the United States have made the regional security situation even more tense." Su Hao, director of the Center for Strategic and Peace Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, pointed out that China emphasizes that China-ROK relations should adhere to independent The practical significance is to hope that the ROK side will eliminate external pressure and truly develop relations with China based on its own strategic needs and national interests.
Looking back at recent years, the United States has continued to step up its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" and has frequently invited South Korea to participate in the "US-Japan-India-Australia Quadrilateral Mechanism" talks and NATO summits, adding uncertainty to the security of the Asia-Pacific region.
In the opinion of experts, the South Korean foreign minister's visit to China is a positive step to ease the current tension in East Asia, but in order to promote stability in East Asia, the South Korean side should also face up to the legitimate security concerns of neighboring countries.
During the Qingdao talks, the foreign ministers of China and the ROK had an in-depth exchange of views on the THAAD issue, expounding their respective positions, believing that each other's security concerns should be taken seriously, and efforts should be made to properly handle it so that it does not become a stumbling block affecting bilateral relations.
At the regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs the following day, the Chinese side said that based on the understanding of the two sides, China and South Korea have handled the THAAD issue steadily and steadily.
"The THAAD issue is actually deeply embedded in the factors of extraterritorial powers. Solving related issues is a test of strategic wisdom for both China and South Korea, and we need to pay attention to each other's reasonable security concerns." Yang Xiyu, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, analyzed that the two sides should truly implement the It is necessary to exclude third-party interference and independently judge and deal with their respective security concerns.
Compared with the "big" issue of geopolitical security, "small" chips have also become one of the focuses of the South Korean foreign minister's visit to China.
According to South Korean media reports, the United States recently proposed to South Korea to hold a preparatory meeting on whether South Korea should participate in the "Chip4 Alliance".
The South Korean side said on the 7th that it is discussing the meeting plan, and decided to propose to the United States at the meeting that the "chip quadrilateral alliance" should be based on "participating countries should respect the one-China principle emphasized by China" and "no mention of export restrictions to China" as the basis. premise.
According to statistics, South Korea's total semiconductor exports in 2021 will be 128 billion US dollars, of which the export share to China will account for 60%.
Some commented that in a delicate situation, behind the small chip is how China and South Korea negotiate to maintain the stability of the production and supply chain, and how to adhere to the principles of non-discrimination, non-exclusion, openness and transparency.
During the talks between Qingdao and Park Zhen, Wang Yi emphasized that the current globalization is encountering adverse currents, and some countries have politicized the economy, instrumentalized trade, and weaponized standards, undermining the stability of global production and supply chains.
As the beneficiaries and builders of the global free trade system, China and South Korea should jointly resist such behaviors that violate the laws of the market, and jointly maintain the security and stability of the production and supply chains of the two countries and the world.
"The chip issue is essentially an issue of trade and investment rules. It should not be pan-national security, use political factors to distort market rules, and then seriously affect the stability of the global production and supply chain." Su Hao pointed out that China and South Korea agreed to maintain production and supply chain. Conduct dialogues on chain stability issues, commit to the integrity, security, smoothness, openness and inclusiveness of production and supply chains, and send positive signals to the outside world.
During the talks, the foreign ministers of the two countries reached a series of consensus on political dialogue, economic and trade negotiations, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
The outside world has particularly noticed that when China-South Korea relations will enter the next 30 years, the foreign ministers of the two countries mentioned the word "mature".
Wang Yi pointed out that China-ROK relations have gone through trials and hardships and should be more mature, independent and stable.
Park Jin also said that it is necessary to respect each other, carry out equality and mutual benefit, and carry out open and inclusive cooperation to make bilateral relations more mature and healthy.
"After 30 years of development in China-South Korea relations, there have been bright moments and difficult times. The maturity of bilateral relations is more important than the temporary state of bilateral relations." Yang Xiyu analyzed that if "maturity" is the goal of developing bilateral relations , China and South Korea can conduct dialogue and cooperation in a wider range of fields, which is not only the vision for the future development of China-ROK relations, but also the focus of efforts.
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