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Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a plenary session of the National People’s Congress, People’s Liberation Army, and the People’s Armed Police in Beijing on Mar. 12. (Yonhap News)
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Senior Chinese official to visit South Korea for a second meeting this month with Chung Eui-yong
China has stepped up its diplomatic efforts amid rapid progress in preparations for upcoming inter-Korean and North Korea-US summits. Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi plans to visit South Korea on Mar. 27–28 to meet with Blue House National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong and others following the National People’s Congress, China’s biggest political event. Yang and Chung will be meeting for a second time in just over two weeks, after the latter’s visit to Beijing on Mar. 12. With China’s leaders hearing in detail during the last meeting on the outcome Chung’s visits to the US and North Korea, their discussions this time are likely to focus on China’s role going ahead. The repeat meeting between the two hints at the possibility of senior-level strategic dialogue becoming established between the two sides. Despite a 2013 agreement to upgrade the talks to the level of the South Korean National Security Office director and Chinese State Councilor, no practical progress has been achieved to date in making them a regular event. Amid fears of Beijing being shut out of the current discussions concerning the Korean Peninsula, many in China are also stressing the need for interchange with North Korea. But observers are skeptical of the approach of China sending a senior-level official to Pyongyang. “When [Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department director] Song Tao visited North Korea last year, he did so as a special representative for President Xi Jinping, but he returned without meeting Kim Jong-un,” Renmin University of China professor Cheng Xiaohe said in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh. “This was a breach of etiquette. China does not want to make the same mistake again, so it will not be the first to send someone,” Cheng predicted – suggesting Pyongyang will have to send someone to Beijing first. Some analysts are suggesting China does not need to get involved at the current stage as key parties to Korean Peninsula issues pursue talks. “The ‘China is being left out’ attitude is Cold War-era thinking,” argued Zhao Tong, a fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center. “I don’t see any outcome from the inter-Korean or North Korea-US summits as likely to have a negative impact on China,“ he said. Zhao added, “Since there isn’t talk anymore about ‘China’s role’ in sanctions on North Korea, Beijing can focus now on domestic issues and its response to the trade war with the US.” By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
