Throwing cold water on Korea-China relations

The dinner between Democratic Party (DP) Chair Lee Jae-myung and Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming is stirring controversy over Korea-China relations. In the meeting on Thursday, Xing said, “Some people are betting on the United States’ victory over China, but those who bet on China’s defeat will have regret soon.” The Chinese ambassador made very inappropriate remarks as they can constitute Beijing’s brazen intervention in Korea’s sovereignty.

Xing’s statement is quite misleading. Over the worsening bilateral ties, he put the blame on Korea. “Frankly, the responsibility does not fall on China,” he said. The ambassador must have forgotten China’s responsibility for backing North Korea in the UN Security Council despite its uninterrupted nuclear and missile provocations. Xing also attributed South Korea’s growing trade deficit largely to its effort to depart from the Chinese market.

But Xing must be oblivious of Beijing’s retaliatory steps against Seoul’s deployment of the Thaad missile defense system in 2016. At that time, many Korean companies doing business in China had to leave the country. His arrogant remarks are not the first time. In an interview with the press in May 2020, Xing pressured South Korea to officially support the National Security Law for Hong Kong. He also claimed that kimchi and hanbok originated from China.

The meeting between DP Chair Lee and Xing was reportedly aimed at finding measures to jointly deal with Japan’s attempt to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to the Pacific. But Xing went on to read from a prepared script for 15 minutes, criticizing the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The Chinese embassy even relayed it live on YouTube.

First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin summoned the Chinese ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and protested. The foreign minister and the National Security Advisor also denounced his presumptuous comment. The government must develop an elaborate manual to deal with China’s “wolf warrior diplomacy” championed by President Xi Jinping.

The Yoon administration prepares to improve Korea-China relations through a tripartite meeting with the U.S. and Japan following a Korea-Japan summit. An ambassador’s role is to maintain and strengthen friendly relations with other countries, not to throw cold water by displaying excessive loyalty to their government back home. We hope Xing does not forget the basics of diplomacy.