A staff member loads medical supplies onto a flight to the Republic of Korea (ROK) at Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, March 16, 2020. (PHOTO/XINHUA)
China and the Republic of Korea may usher in a new era for cooperation and greater development in bilateral relations as the two countries celebrate 30 years of diplomatic ties, experts say.
“The ROK and China are inseparable,” said Lee Hee-ok, director of the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.
Lee said the two countries are closely linked politically, economically and culturally, adding that China and the ROK should maintain their cooperation framework while pursuing what he called a “dynamic stability” to actively adapt to new changes and external challenges.
Lee Hee-ok, director of the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, said the two countries are closely linked politically, economically and culturally, adding that China and the ROK should maintain their cooperation framework while pursuing what he called a “dynamic stability” to actively adapt to new changes and external challenges
Based on an understanding of their differences in system and ideology, Lee Hee-ok said the two countries should also extend their cooperation from bilateral to regional and international issues. “This is the original meaning of a strategic partnership,” he said.
On Aug 24, the day China and the ROK marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties, the Chinese Ambassador to the ROK, Xing Haiming said that he hopes China-ROK relations will be more mature, independent, stable and generate greater vitality.
“The trade volume between China and the ROK has reached $360 billion and the accumulated mutual investment has reached $250 billion,” said Xing, adding that tens of millions of two-way visits are made by people of both countries each year.
“China is clearly good partner and a crucial partner, not only for the ROK’s economic vitality but also the stability in Northeast Asia,” said Cha Du-hyeogn, principal fellow at The Asan Institute for Policy Studies think tank.
Cha said that the best time for China-ROK ties was before the emergence of the nuclear issue in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea when the two countries expanded shared interests especially in economic cooperation and cultural exchanges.
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy President Kim Heung-chong said the ROK and China have built a strong production network amid globalization over the past 30 years and the scale and scope of trade and investment partnership have increased dramatically.
The value of bilateral trade between China and ROK has expanded by a factor of 70 over the past three decades, with China remaining the ROK’s biggest trade partner for 18 consecutive years, according to the Chinese embassy in the ROK.
While the bilateral relationship is facing new challenges as regional and global business environment changes, Kim believes the two countries can find a new paradigm for their economic relationship to overcome these challenges.
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For example, as China has developed its advanced manufacturing industry, Kim said the China-ROK economic relationship has shifted to a competitive partnership instead of a complementary one, especially in the trade of intermediate goods, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the ROK’s business with China.
A visitor poses for photos at the booth of the Republic of Korea in the exhibition hall of Special Area for Countries, Provinces, Regions and Cities during the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 6, 2020. (PHOTO/XINHUA_
“It is necessary to develop a new partnership between the ROK and China, by strengthening economic ties in high-tech manufacturing, digital, and green industries, expanding the cooperation scope to service and investment fields,” said Kim, adding that follow-up negotiations on the China-ROK FTA service investment, and digital and environmental cooperation will also be key.
China and the ROK signed a bilateral Free Trade Agreement in 2014, which came into effect in the following year. Since then, eight rounds of tariff slashes have been rolled out between the two nations, and China has waived more than 40 percent of tariffs on imports from the ROK.
To enhance the ROK-China relations, instead of short-sighted focus on one country’s own benefit, we should focus on the peace and co-existence of the human beings.
Lee Chang-ho, chairman of Korea-China Exchange Promotion Committee
Citing the words of Chinese philosopher Confucius “at 30, a man should stand firm”, Lee Chang-ho, chairman of the Korea-China Exchange Promotion Committee, said the 30th anniversary of China-ROK ties is the starting point for the formation of a new strategic relationship for the next century.
Despite growing protectionism and nationalism in the world, Lee Chang-ho said China-ROK relations are not about focusing on one country but based on mutual respect and care.
“To enhance the ROK-China relations, instead of short-sighted focus on one country’s own benefit, we should focus on the peace and co-existence of the human beings,” said Lee Chang-ho, adding that areas such as new technologies, semi-conductors and a peaceful Korean Peninsula could lay the basis of a new strategic partnership for economic security.
Choi Pil-soo, a professor of Chinese trade and commerce at Sejong University, said China and the ROK were the largest beneficiaries of globalization over the past 30 years and the two countries contributed to each other’s competitiveness in industrial performance.
In the Competitive Industrial Performance Index 2020 released by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, China ranked second and the ROK came in third.
“If China could be referred as the world’s factory, then the ROK could be referred to as one of the most important providers to that factory,” Choi said, adding that ROK companies had begun to invest in China even before the two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1992.
“Most recently, China has also invested in the ROK in its most advanced areas like e-commerce and electric vehicle,” said Choi.
In a changing geopolitical landscape, Cha from The Asan Institute for Policy Studies said China and ROK have different strategies and approaches.
“China has expected that, due to the mutual cooperation between China and the ROK, the ROK will have a balanced and sometimes a neutral stance between China and the United States,” Cha said, adding that the ROK also expected China to show its influence over the DPRK issue, which reflects ROK’s strategic goals.
But Cha said both countries will need to adjust their expectations over each other, “Based on these adjusted expectations, China and the ROK (can) revitalize the mutual channel of dialogues and reopen the social and cultural exchange programs,” said Cha.
In addition, Cha said China and the ROK also have critical concerns on emergency security issues such as the environment for them to work on together.
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Noting the two countries have expanded supply chain cooperation amid globalization and are playing an important role in supplying major products to the global market, Kim of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, or KIEP, said the ROK and China need to expand such cooperation for regional supply chain stability under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.
The RCEP is the world’s largest free trade pact to date and comprises the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with China, Japan, the ROK, Australia and New Zealand.
In terms of the global supply chain divergency, Kim said the ROK and China can put their efforts into maintaining a free and fair trade system and stabilizing the global supply chain by managing technically multilateral, regional, and bilateral platforms.
“The ROK and China can cooperate to stabilize the supply chain and further promote upgrading the supply chain through digital and green transformation that contributes to global economic recovery and economic stability,” said Kim.
Kim said his institute is also conducting various studies on economic cooperation with China. With an office in Beijing since 1995, Kim said the institute will continue to play a leading role in China-ROK economic cooperation research, contributing to the further upgrading of bilateral ties.
“Recently, KIEP is seeking avenues for ROK-China cooperation in the fields of digital trade and climate change to find new momentum for ROK-China cooperation,” Kim Heung-chong said, adding that it is necessary to activate public-private exchanges and cooperation by involving national research institutes like KIEP in bilateral cooperation.
Sungkyunkwan University’s Lee Hee-ok said it is necessary for China and the ROK to cooperate closely on issues including climate change, healthcare, terrorism and disasters, as well as the supply chain.
“We need to exchange our experiences through regular dialogues to make contributions to regional peace and stability,” said Lee Hee-ok.
Lee Hee-ok said it is worrisome and regrettable that the mutual understanding between people in the ROK and China, especially the young generation, tends to be negative in recent times, which could be a result of the disconnection of people-to-people exchanges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As public opinion can be easily distorted by fake news on the internet, Lee said it is necessary to promote sustainable and future-oriented public diplomacy, and avoid the spread of conflicts from the fields of high politics, matters related to national security, to the public sector.
Lee Chang-ho from the Korea-China Exchange Promotion Committee said the committee is planning to organize various activities such as forums and seminars to improve the ROK-China friendship, nurture young talent in various sectors and promote talent exchange.
kelly@chinadailyapac.com