Diplomacy 101 the Chinese ambassador missed

Suh Kyoung-ho
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“I hope you don’t go to Taiwan. Aren’t you supposed to visit China in the future?”

In 2004, diplomats of the Chinese embassy in Korea telephoned former and incumbent lawmakers of the National Assembly to discourage their plan to attend the inauguration ceremony of the reelected Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. The wording — “Aren’t you supposed to visit China in the future?” — was a subtle threat to the politicians that they must not expect cooperation from Beijing in the future if they choose to attend the event.

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, right, listens to Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speak before their dinner at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on Thursday. [KIM HYUN-DONG]

Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocated Taiwan’s independence. For China upholding the “One China” principle, he was a thorn in the eye. Former Rep. Jang Sung-min of the Millennium Democratic Party, who disclosed the incident on the internet at the time, criticized the phone calls as a “violation of the sovereignty of Korea and an act of interference in internal affairs.” Xing Haiming, the current Chinese ambassador to Korea, was then the political affairs counselor at the Chinese embassy in Seoul.

Xing, who studied at the Sariwon University of Agriculture in North Korea, served twice at the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang and three times at the Chinese embassy in Seoul before becoming the ambassador to South Korea in 2020. Because of his rough language, Xing stirred several controversies. Working as a counselor during his third service in Seoul in 2010, he faced criticism for his harsh response to then-Unification Minister Hyun In-taek. After the minister urged Beijing to take a responsible attitude, Xing responded, “Don’t you think you are going too far?”

Xing did the same in a meeting with Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung last week. “Those who bet on China’s defeat [in a hegemony war with the U.S.] will surely regret it later,” he said. “China is not responsible [for the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Korea and China].” The remarks stirred a controversy. The DP relayed the ambassador’s condescending rhetoric live on YouTube. That fueled South Koreans’ anti-Chinese sentiment triggered by Beijing’s economic and cultural retaliation in 2016 against Seoul’s decision to deploy the Thaad missile defense system to defend against North Korean missiles. The basic duty of diplomats is to protect their home country’s interest, but an ambassador is also responsible for maintaining good relations with the host country. Xing’s words and actions show that he completely gave up diplomatic efforts to open the hearts of the people in the host country and broaden the horizon of diplomacy. We can only feel his over-the-top loyalty to Beijing.

“If Japan is an enemy of 100 years, China is an enemy of 1,000 years,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying habitually to his aides, according to the book, “The China Shock, Korea’s Choice: Why Is China a Problem Right Now?”, published last year. Author Han Cheong-hwon wrote, “The anti-Chinese sentiment has become the spirit of the times to the extent that the description of China as the enemy of 1,000 years has become more convincing to Koreans.” The younger generation, who grew up enjoying liberal democracy, reacts more sensitively to the authoritarian behaviors of the Chinese Communist Party, symbolized by the one-man rule and regulation of popular culture.

After the Foreign Ministry summoned Xing to complain and the presidential office directly criticized Xing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the Korean ambassador to China to complain about Seoul’s action. Xing’s non-diplomatic rhetoric must be addressed, and we must say what we have to. But at the same time, we need to manage relations with China coolly so that the situation would not grow worse.

If the government acts resolutely based on the people’s anti-Chinese sentiment, we may feel relieved for a while, but it can cause unnecessary friction. Pragmatic diplomacy that puts national interests first is the key. While unwaveringly maintaining the strategy of strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation among Korea, Japan and the United States, we should pay attention to China and Russia. We need to continue pragmatic cooperation with China through behind-the-scenes contacts to find common interests.

Last month, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choo Kyung-ho met with Xing at the government complex in Seoul. When Korea requested support for consultations to hold the Korea-China economic ministers’ meeting in Seoul within the year, China requested respect and consideration from Seoul for its core values. There were no harsh words, and the two sides amicably exchanged their hope.

The two countries have many things to cooperate on through various channels. For instance, what benefits Korean semiconductor factories in China also benefits China. They must build up concrete experiences of cooperation one after another. The “respect and consideration” Xing requested from Choo should be reciprocal. We no longer want to see the “wolf warrior” who abandons respect and consideration for the other country.