Relationship between China and S Korea warming

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-29

Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye meet in the Great Hall of the People,
Beijing, June 27, 2013. (photo/CNS)

While China's relationship with North Korea has become rather ambiguous, the country's relationship with South Korea is warming, reports our Chinese language sister newspaper China Times.

On June 27, South Korea and China announced that Chinese president Xi Jinping will visit South China July 3-4. Breaking with tradition, Xi will not visit North Korea first, but instead arrive directly in South Korea.

A poll jointly conducted by the English-language Korea Joongang Daily and the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in May, projected that up to 48% of South Koreans support the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, and that 41.6 % believe it is mutually beneficial.

The poll projected that 62.0% of South Koreans believe that the relationship between China and South Korea has improved since Park Geun-hye assumed office, and 70.8% believe that the ties between the two countries will become closer.

Anti-Chinese sentiment has decreased significantly amongst those polled. Fifty-four percent of South Koreans regard the relationship between China and South Korea as cooperative, while only 33.4% regard it as competitive.

A majority–61.8%–of those polled believe China is a trustworthy country, and Xi Jinping is considered as a favorable leader of a neighboring country by 35.4% of those polled, just behind Barack Obama's at 56.9%.

This suggests that public opinion towards China in South Korea's has shifted to a more cordial attitude. The South Korean public are projected to trust China much more than the US, with 81% of South Koreans polled supporting security cooperation with China.

In terms of the specific issues of cooperation with China, 37.2% of South Koreans polled chose North Korean nuclear proliferation. Regarding the high-level official meeting to take place at the beginning of July, 34.3% of those polled consider China to be more influential, 33.7% picked South Korea, and just 22.5% chose the US.

The perceived importance of inter-Korean cooperation for reunification dropped to 20.6% in the table on the list of issues on which South Korea and China should cooperate.

In response to Xi's unprecedented direct flight to South Korea, North Korea sent Ma Won-chun, director of the National Defense Commission's design department, to visit Beijing on June 10. It is speculated that Ma's visit is to discuss the relationship between China and North Korea after Xi's visit to South Korea.

The Seoul-based Chosun Ilbo reported that Ma led an unofficial delegation of 21 people composed of officials from the Bureau of Design and the Commission for National Defense to visit Beijing Polytechonic for "an inspection."

Ma is a high-level officer with several posts–he is also the deputy general director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and a deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance–which led to speculation that this was more than just an inspection.

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A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“….. Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”