China calls for developing relations with South Korea without ‘interference’

ISTANBUL

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said Monday Beijing wants to develop bilateral relations with South Korea “without interference.”

Wang made the opening statement as he hosted his counterpart from South Korea Cho Tae-yul for bilateral talks in Beijing -- first such trip to China since 2022 when then-Foreign Minister Park Jin met Wang in the port city of Qingdao in the eastern Shandong province.

Pointing out “difficulties” in the ties between Beijing and Seoul, Wang said it does “not serve the common interest of the two countries,” Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

The bilateral relations between the two neighbors spiraled down as South Korea, under President Yoon Suk-yeol, closed ranks with the US while also calling for maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Yoon’s comment on cross-Strait relations triggered a response from Beijing which called it “interference into China’s internal affairs.”

"The difficulties and challenges facing South Korea-China relations have clearly increased. This is not in line with the mutual interests of our two countries, and nor is it something that China desires," Wang said, calling for a push towards “stable and healthy” bilateral relations.

He called on Seoul to stick to the “direction of mutual goodwill ... and uphold the goal of mutual cooperation and face each other, while excluding interference.”

The two sides are also discussing the possibility of a trilateral summit among the top diplomats with Japan in Seoul in the coming weeks.

In his comments, Cho stressed that South Korea's relations with China and its relations with the US are not a "zero-sum" relationship.

“We don't perceive foreign relations as a zero-sum relationship, nor do we manage them as such," Cho said.

As Tokyo and Seoul close their ranks with Washington, Wang last July sought cooperation from Japan and South Korea, saying they can “change their looks but will never become Westerners."

"It doesn't matter how much you dye your hair blonde, how sharp you make your nose, you'll never become Europeans or Americans. You'll never become Westerners," the veteran Chinese diplomat told an event that featured guests from South Korea and Japan in Qingdao.