[APEC Summit] U.S.-China-China-Japan trilateral talks…’trilateral talks’ can’t happen Why?

[iNews24 Reporter Kim Bo-seon] Following his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, President Yoon Seok-yeol is set to visit the UK on the 20th. While a series of meetings among major countries, including the US-China and China-Japan summits, took place in the wake of this multilateral conference, the much-anticipated South Korea-China meeting did not materialize. The opposition party criticized this as a ‘solo failure of the meeting,’ downplaying the diplomatic achievements.

The Presidential Office maintains that there were no urgent issues between South Korea and China, hence the official meeting was postponed, but it leaves a task to revitalize the relationship with China, including resolving strained South Korea-China relations.

A Presidential Office official said on the 19th, “Basically, the event schedule for the 2-night 3-day stay was very tight, and there was not much time as there were not only the APEC summit but also the IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework).” He went on to say, “The US and China had a lot of issues that needed to be resolved. That was the case in terms of bilateral relations and the global political situation. Japan and China also had issues that needed to be resolved.” He explained, “In relation to South Korea and China, the president recently met with Premier Li Keqiang, and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo met with President Xi Jinping and had a conversation, so the urgent issues between the two countries have been somewhat resolved.”

Despite the tight schedule, China concentrated its diplomatic efforts on the US-China summit and even proceeded with the China-Japan summit, pushing the South Korea-China meeting down the priority list.

During the APEC summit, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their second summit on November 15th, a year after their first meeting at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last November. The next day, President Xi also had a face-to-face meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the first time in a year.

The South Korea-China summit, the holding of which was uncertain until the last minute, did not take place. President Yoon and President Xi only had a short conversation for about three minutes before the start of the APEC summit session 1 on the 16th. This meeting was also the first in a year since the South Korea-China summit on the occasion of the G20 summit last November, but it did not lead to an official meeting.

At that time, President Yoon said, “I hope that this APEC will yield good results,” and President Xi replied, “I am confident of good results. I hope that South Korea and China will cooperate with each other for this.” Also, when President Yoon said, “Thank you for welcoming and hosting Prime Minister Han Deok-soo during the Hangzhou Asian Games,” President Xi responded, “I had a great conversation with Prime Minister Han.”

The Democratic Party criticized, “The US-China and China-Japan summits were held, but the South Korea-China summit was not. Isn’t it embarrassing that only the South Korea-China summit failed?”

In response, a Presidential Office official said, “We had a brief encounter this time and exchanged pleasantries, promising a future meeting, and the foreign ministers of the two countries will meet soon.” He added, “Basically, South Korea and China are communicating sufficiently through dialogue to resolve the issues that need to be resolved.”

President Yoon will stay in Korea for one day and then head to the UK on the 20th. After visiting the UK, he will move to Paris, France, to engage in the final diplomatic battle to host the Busan Expo ahead of the International Exhibition Bureau (BIE) vote.

Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Do-woon said about the Busan Expo diplomacy, “The president will make a last-minute effort through the BIE representative negotiation dinner, lunch, and national day reception on site.” He added, “Ahead of the BIE vote on the 28th, a person of international influence in our country will make the final presentation.”