{"id":2199503,"date":"2022-11-17T10:12:22","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T10:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199503"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:58","slug":"great-power-rivalry-limits-the-extent-to-which-yoon-and-xi-can-work-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/great-power-rivalry-limits-the-extent-to-which-yoon-and-xi-can-work-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Great power rivalry limits the extent to which Yoon and Xi can work together"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yoon Suk-yeol and Xi Jinping said this week that they want to work together as much as possible, but due to U.S.-China rivalry, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two leaders\u2019 <\/span>first meeting<\/span><\/a> at the G-20 summit in Indonesia on Tuesday was cordial enough, but reading between the lines, it\u2019s apparent that the two sides are at odds on a number of security and economic issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon spent much of his two-legged trip to the ASEAN summit in Cambodia and the G-20 summit in Indonesia aligning South Korea more closely with the U.S. This was reflected in not only a <\/span>trilateral summit<\/span><\/a> with Japan and the U.S. but also South Korea\u2019s <\/span>newly announced<\/span><\/a> Indo-Pacific strategy, which shares <\/span>many similarities<\/span><\/a> to Washington\u2019s vision for a \u201c<\/span>rules-based order<\/span><\/a>\u201d in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden managed to <\/span>cool tensions<\/span><\/a> during their <\/span>summit<\/span><\/a> in Cambodia, the two countries made little concrete progress in solving their fundamental differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

As long as China and the U.S. \u2014 the ROK\u2019s most important economic and security partners, respectively \u2014 are feuding, South Korea\u2019s scope for improving ties with Beijing will remain constrained.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Yoon and Xi appear to differ on North Korea | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Jan. 10, 2019)<\/p><\/div>\n

HOW TO DEAL WITH NORTH KOREA<\/b><\/p>\n

Yoon and Xi didn\u2019t make any clear progress in resolving their differences over North Korea, which <\/span>appears ready<\/span><\/a> to conduct its seventh nuclear test.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to South Korea\u2019s <\/span>readout<\/span><\/a> of the summit, Yoon asked China to play a \u201cmore active and constructive role\u201d with North Korea. He specifically pointed to China\u2019s position as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and the DPRK\u2019s neighbor.<\/span><\/p>\n

While South Korea and the U.S. have called on China \u2014 by far the DPRK\u2019s largest trading partner \u2014 to enforce international sanctions, Beijing is blocking attempts at the UNSC to ramp up the pressure on Pyongyang, <\/span>vetoing<\/span><\/a> new sanctions in May.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon is likely holding out some hope that Xi will punish Pyongyang if it goes as far as to conduct another nuclear test. However, given relatively positive China-North Korea relations and intensifying great power rivalry with the U.S., Beijing will be <\/span>less inclined than ever<\/span><\/a> to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the summit, Xi did <\/span>express his support<\/span><\/a> for Seoul\u2019s <\/span>\u201caudacious plan,\u201d<\/span><\/a> referring to the Yoon administration\u2019s offer to provide Pyongyang with economic aid in return for denuclearization \u2014 but only \u201cif North Korea responds.\u201d Considering North Korea has <\/span>vehemently rejected<\/span><\/a> the plan, Xi\u2019s support seems to be nothing more than a diplomatic nicety.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s <\/span>readout<\/span><\/a> added Xi acknowledged that while Seoul and Beijing share a mutual interest in problems on the peninsula, he added that he hopes \u201cSouth Korea will actively improve inter-Korean relations.\u201d Beijing has previously <\/span>blamed<\/span><\/a> U.S.-ROK military exercises for stoking tensions, but Seoul maintains that these are a necessary response to the DPRK\u2019s rapidly advancing weapons program.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, China\u2019s <\/span>readout<\/span><\/a> of the summit didn\u2019t even mention North Korea issues once. It seems that Beijing is distancing itself from taking responsibility in the way Yoon would like.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

China is South Korea\u2019s largest trading partner | Image: <\/span><\/i>Office of the President of the Republic of Korea<\/span><\/i><\/a> (Nov. 15, 2022)<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

SALVAGING ECONOMIC TIES<\/b><\/p>\n

Yoon and Xi seemed to be more on the same page when it comes to maintaining strong economic ties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

China\u2019s <\/span>readout<\/span><\/a> emphasized its desire to \u201coppose politicizing economic cooperation or overstretching the concept of security on such cooperation\u201d with South Korea. The country\u2019s state-run <\/span>Global Times <\/span><\/i>elaborated<\/span><\/a> on this, explaining how \u201cSouth Korea has been under pressure from the U.S. to form a technology alliance\u201d \u2014 <\/span>Chip 4<\/span><\/a> \u2014 \u201cto contain China’s rise in the tech sphere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But South Korea <\/span>attended<\/span><\/a> an event in Indonesia for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), which China <\/span>sees<\/span><\/a> as a counter to its own Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The White House says PGII was launched to \u201cdevelop a values-driven, high-impact, and transparent infrastructure partnership to meet the enormous infrastructure needs of low- and middle-income countries and support the United States\u2019 and its allies\u2019 economic and national security interests.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, Yoon <\/span>expressed<\/span><\/a> his country\u2019s intent to participate in the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) during the ROK-U.S.-Japan <\/span>trilateral summit<\/span><\/a>. China <\/span>believes<\/span><\/a> that the PBP \u2014 an effort to strengthen economic ties between U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific \u2014 is another initiative to contain and exclude it.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, South Korea did attend the <\/span>17th East Asia Summit<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>ASEAN Plus Three<\/span><\/a> in Cambodia, regional forums that both included China.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seoul has good reason to want to work with Beijing as much as possible, since China is by far South Korea\u2019s <\/span>largest trading partner<\/span><\/a>. In fact, the South Korean government and companies have expressed concern about aspects of <\/span>Chip 4<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)<\/span><\/a> that might penalize Seoul if it doesn\u2019t decouple from China.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the fact that the Yoon administration jumped on Washington\u2019s bandwagon for so many regional initiatives shows that, while South Korea will work with Xi when it can, it will side with the U.S. when it has to make a choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Bryan Betts<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Defense & Security<\/span><\/a>Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yoon Suk-yeol and Xi Jinping said this week that they want to work together as much as possible, but due to U.S.-China rivalry, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to do this. The two leaders\u2019 first meeting at the G-20 summit in Indonesia on Tuesday was cordial enough, but reading between the lines, it\u2019s apparent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5769,"featured_media":2199504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[26,27,28],"yoast_head":"\nGreat power rivalry limits the extent to which Yoon and Xi can work together - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/great-power-rivalry-limits-the-extent-to-which-yoon-and-xi-can-work-together\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Great power rivalry limits the extent to which Yoon and Xi can work together - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yoon Suk-yeol and Xi Jinping said this week that they want to work together as much as possible, but due to U.S.-China rivalry, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to do this. 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