Sino-South Korean Ties Stabilizing to Boost Trade, Peace and Cooperation

By Shafei Moiz Hali

Bilateral relations between China and South Korea were booming a year ago, and China became South Korea's largest trading partner. South Korean exports to China reached over $137 billion while imports were greater-than $90 billion. This blossoming relationship came to a halt when South Korea's previous President Park Geun-hye decided to the installation of the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense platform, despite China's warning against this deployment.

When relations between the two countries became strained, bilateral trade also started to dry up because the people of China highly value national integrity and reacted very strongly against the deployment of THAAD. Chinese people started to boycott South Korean goods and services and this movement spread to the tourism industry as well, resulting in fewer travel tours to South Korea. These reactions on the Chinese side resulted in 0.4% shaving of economic growth in South Korea. After Park Geun-hye was impeached, President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea was elected as the new President this year. Immediately after assuming office, President Moon decided to rectify the follies of the conservative Saenuri Party and President Park. He made it a priority to mend relations with China.

Local residents take part in a protest against the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2016.[Photo: Xinhua]

Moon was unable to reverse the decision to deploy THAAD but because of his efforts, reassurances have been given to China that the "THAAD system deployed in Korea is, pursuant to the original purpose of its deployment, not directed to harm China's strategic security and interests." Apart from this guarantee given by the government in Seoul, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha announced a couple of days ago that "South Korea is not considering any additional deployments of the US Terminal High Attitude Area Defense anti-missile system, and the country won't participate in the US-led missile defense networks."

The reassurances given by South Korea have not changed Beijing's stance on the deployment of THAAD, as the foreign ministry of China maintains that "it opposes the deployment of THAAD as a matter of national security," But China "takes note of South Korea's stance and hopes South Korea will properly handle the relevant issues." Both sides have agreed to "keep communication through military-to-military channels."

The important point to consider is that peaceful diplomacy takes a lot of patience, careful planning and time. President Xi has proven yet again his leadership skills in maintaining peace, as progress has been made in stopping further deployment of US systems in South Korea which otherwise would have been detrimental not only for China but also for the region at large. North Korea is treading on a dangerous path of conducting tests of its nuclear arsenal as a signal of military strength despite mounting UN sanctions. These recent tests are part of retaliatory measures taken by North Korea over the deployment of THAAD and further deployments would have been contrary to offering an olive branch to Pyongyang. The US stance of further deployments would create a security dilemma and would push an already volatile region into a spiral. Since China is committed towards establishing peace and Chinese influence in the region and convinced South Korea to stop further deployments, this step can prove to be a major confidence building measure in the peaceful denuclearization process of the Korean peninsula. Similarly China's concerns regarding the trilateral military cooperation between the South Korea, Japan and the United States as a tactic for flanking North Korea would have only made matters worse. Thankfully South Korea has heeded China's concerns, which is why Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha announced a couple of days ago that "the trilateral military cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo would not extend into a military alliance."

It is because of the positive attitude exhibited by the Moon government in South Korea that China has agreed with South Korea to put bilateral relations back on the right track, which is why the two countries recently held high-level talks between Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of national security of the Blue House, and Kong Xuanyou, assistant foreign minister of China. The talks were successful as both countries issued a joint statement in which it was mentioned that, "Both sides attach great importance to China-South Korea ties and stand ready to promote their strategic cooperative partnership." At the same time it has been noted that China is taking the lead in actively trying to resolve the issue of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. In the joint statement, it was mentioned that China and South Korea had agreed to enhance strategic communication and cooperation in the face of North Korea's accelerating nuclear and missile program.

As part of the normalization of ties, China has offered to renew a $56 billion currency swap agreement while Chinese airlines are reportedly planning to restore flight routes to South Korea. Last week President Moon labeled South Korea's relationship with China as significant in finding a peaceful solution to the nuclear buildup on the Korean Peninsula.

To conclude, China has clearly stated that it will maintain its stance towards the deployment of THAAD and will continue to hold talks with the Moon government to find a solution to the problem. THAAD-related issues not only undermine China's security interests but are a major road block in starting meaningful negotiations with Pyongyang to establish peace. But efforts made by the Moon administration have created space for the normalcy of Sino-South Korean ties, which is why President Xi's administration has responded adequately and a meeting between President Xi and President Moon can be expected on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum which will be held in Vietnam later this month.

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He obtained his PhD at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is working as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Contemporary Studies, National Defense University (NDU) Islamabad, Pakistan.)