[Correspondent Diary] China Completely Different from the THAAD Era, Why?

No Backlash Over Taiwan Missile Range Limit Lift, North Korea Nuclear Issue Shows Divergent Claims Between Two Countries
Maintaining Existing Principles and Stance on China... Korea-US Technology Cooperation Expected to Fail

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Although the Taiwan issue was mentioned in the joint statement announced after the South Korea-US summit, China did not strongly oppose it. China had strongly opposed the mention of the Taiwan issue during the US-Japan summit, calling it interference in internal affairs.

Also, China did not express any significant stance regarding South Korea's lifting of missile range restrictions. This is completely different from the time of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) deployment.

On the 23rd, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency did not address the Taiwan-related issue in an article titled "The Achievements of Biden and Moon Jae-in's Meeting." Xinhua attributed significance only from the Chinese perspective to the first face-to-face meeting between the South Korea-US leaders since COVID-19, reaffirmation of the alliance between the two countries, cooperation on vaccines and semiconductors, and the North Korean nuclear issue. However, it downplayed the results of the summit, suggesting that the outcomes would not meet the expectations of the US side.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Xinhua first evaluated that President Joe Biden choosing South Korea as the second country for a summit since his inauguration was to emphasize the importance of the South Korea-US alliance. It reported that the US seemed to hope to demonstrate the strength of the South Korea-US alliance to the outside world through this summit, and that the two countries stated in the joint statement that the alliance would open a new chapter for the future.

However, regarding North Korea's denuclearization issue, it analyzed that the two countries were not in sync. The Moon Jae-in administration, with one year left in its term, hopes to find a breakthrough in inter-Korean issues, but North Korea's denuclearization is not a priority for the Biden administration. It concluded that the North Korean nuclear issue remained at a rhetorical level of resolving through dialogue and diplomacy.

Xinhua evaluated that the two countries achieved certain results in COVID-19 vaccines and semiconductor sectors during the summit but explained that whether actual results would materialize remains uncertain. It reported that the US has pursued "America First" regarding vaccines and questioned whether the promised vaccine supply to South Korea would be properly fulfilled. It also forecasted that the fundamental problem of semiconductor shortages would not be resolved by investments from South Korea's Samsung and SK. While it could help the US in the long term, it analyzed that it would not benefit the US in the short term.

Xinhua, in its lengthy commentary article related to the South Korea-US summit, did not use the word "Taiwan" even once.

The state-run Global Times evaluated that the South Korean government did not cross the line regarding the Taiwan issue. It reported that although Taiwan and the South China Sea issues were mentioned in the joint statement after the South Korea-US summit, the South Korean side maintained its existing principles and positions.

Lu Qiao, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in China, said, "It was expected that the Taiwan issue would appear in the joint statement after the South Korea-US summit," adding, "This joint statement represents the greatest consensus that South Korea and the US could reach on Taiwan and other China-related issues." This implies that the two countries will not advance further on Taiwan and other China-related issues.

Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, said, "Japan has abandoned relative neutrality between China and the US, but South Korea has not," adding, "China is a major economic partner of South Korea and plays an important role in the Korean Peninsula issue." He further added, "South Korea is a relatively weak link in the US's attempt to build a so-called anti-China alliance in East Asia."

Global Times, in another analytical article titled "US-South Korea Technological Cooperation Is Bound to Fail," stated that the US is making various attempts to separate China and South Korea, but the South Korea-US technological cooperation will fail. The media criticized the US side, accusing it of politically using its allies to suppress China's technological development.

Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China WTO Research Association, said, "South Korea is trying to show a cautious and neutral attitude regarding China-related issues," and predicted, "Despite US pressure, South Korea will not give up mutually beneficial cooperation with China."

Ma Zhihua, a Chinese IT industry analyst, said, "The Biden administration is trying to pressure China through South Korea's giant companies like Samsung, but this will fail," adding, "South Korea's semiconductor technology is deeply intertwined with China, which has the world's most complete industrial support system and ecosystem, so cooperation with China aligns with the interests of Korean companies."

Such reports by Chinese state media are interpreted as reflecting the judgment that it would not be beneficial for China if it confronts South Korea amid the deepening US-China conflict.