Park Jin: "Only Korea Can Alleviate China's Concerns on CHIPS Act 4"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Foreign Minister Park Jin emphasized that South Korea can play a role in alleviating China’s concerns in the semiconductor supply chain cooperation dialogue led by the United States when he met with Wang Yi, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced the results of the Korea-China foreign ministers’ meeting held the previous day in Qingdao, China, to reporters on the 10th and responded to the question, “How did you resolve China’s misunderstandings about Chip 4?” as follows.

The official said, “Minister Park explained that South Korea has no intention of excluding any particular country and, considering the closely connected economic and trade structure between Korea and China, South Korea can rather serve as a bridge.”

Minister Park’s remarks are interpreted as emphasizing that, given the current international relations, South Korea is the only country that can make efforts to reflect China’s position during the progress of the Chip 4 discussions.

It is reported that Wang Yi brought up the topic of Chip 4 first during the meeting that day.

The official said, “Minister Park conveyed that he is well aware of China’s concerns and that South Korea’s participation in Chip 4 is not necessarily a bad thing from China’s perspective. He also mentioned that considering our open economy and the tightly connected trade structure with China, it would be practically difficult to exclude China exclusively.”

Furthermore, Minister Park provided detailed explanations about the purpose of Chip 4 as understood by the Korean government, the fact that Korea decided to participate in the preliminary meeting, and that this decision was communicated to the U.S. side.

Regarding Minister Park’s remarks, it is known that the Chinese side expressed a hope that South Korea would make a prudent judgment.

During the meeting, Minister Park conveyed to the Chinese side that China is South Korea’s largest trading partner and expressed hope to strengthen communication and cooperation for stable management of supply chains with China. He also proposed expanding the existing bilateral consultative body for supply chain-related communication and dialogue.

On the same day, Wang Yi asked Minister Park how South Korea plans to lead the Indo-Pacific strategy.

In response, Minister Park explained the Korean government’s value diplomacy that emphasizes universal values and norms, stating that this is also related to Korea’s identity.

Additionally, the senior official said, “Minister Park said that our value diplomacy is not about siding with any particular country but is meaningful in pursuing universal values. He also said that since Korea and China are strategic cooperative partners, it is important to respect fundamental values, value the Korea-China relationship as it is, and develop it well going forward.”

In this process, Minister Park once again emphasized the spirit of ‘Hwairbudong’ (和而不同), which means seeking harmony while acknowledging differences.

It is also reported that both sides exchanged views on the recent U.S.-China conflict triggered by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan during the meeting.

The senior official said, “Minister Park stated in the latter part of the expanded meeting that Korea’s position remains unchanged in respecting the One-China principle, and at the same time, we consider maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait to be very important for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and essential for regional security and prosperity.”

He added, “He clearly stated that our government’s position is that changes to the status quo by force in violation of the UN Charter and international law are unacceptable.”