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President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of their first summit, held in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15. (courtesy of the presidential office)

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held their first summit on Tuesday in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, in which they discussed issues including North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and strengthening exchange and cooperation between their respective countries. Yoon asked Xi for China to play an “active, constructive role” in responding to North Korea’s threats, while Xi stuck to the principle that South Korea should be the party actively working to improve inter-Korean relations.

In the summit, which lasted 25 minutes, the two leaders discussed topics such as how Korea-China relations should develop, the problems faced by the Korean Peninsula, and various regional and global considerations. Yoon had called the Chinese leader while still the president-elect, but Tuesday was his first time meeting the leader for a face-to-face summit.

Tuesday’s summit marked the first time in two years and 11 months that the leaders of South Korea and China met for a summit, after the one in December 2019 between then-President Moon Jae-in and Xi in Beijing.

During the summit, Yoon stated, “Our administration’s diplomatic aim is to pursue and contribute to the freedom, peace, and prosperity in East Asia and in the international community,” continuing by saying that “the means and methods are rooted in universal values and international norms.”

“Since China’s role in promoting freedom, peace, and prosperity in East Asia is critical,” said Yoon, “Korea and China should closely communicate and cooperate with each other.”

According to the South Korean presidential office, Yoon stated, “In order to respond to complex challenges such as the pandemic, global recession, and global warming, South Korea and China should engage in high-level conversations.” The presidential office stated that Xi expressed enthusiasm for the revival of high-level talks.

With many estimating that North Korea will carry out a seventh nuclear test, issues surrounding the North’s increasingly aggressive nuclear and missile threats were a central topic of discussion. Yoon mentioned the escalation of North Korea’s threats, expressing hope that “China will take a more constructive role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a neighboring state.”

To that, Xi reportedly responded by stating that South Korea and China both have a common interest in the security of the Korean Peninsula, and should protect peace there, and that South Korea should be the one to take an active role to improve inter-Korean relations. Xi also went on to comment that China’s involvement in Yoon’s “audacious initiative” to provide economic support to North Korea if they engaged in denuclearization talks would depend on the North’s say in the matter. Xi said China would “actively support and cooperate” in the implementation of the initiative if the North was amenable.

Rather than acceding to Yoon’s request that China play a more “active role” regarding North Korean issues, Xi’s statements are being interpreted as choosing to leave the responsibility to the two Koreas while maintaining some distance. Some see this as a reflection of the Yoon administration’s increasing entanglement in Japan and the US’ pressure campaign on China. On Sunday, the leaders of South Korea, the US, and Japan adopted the “Phnom Penh Statement,” further delineating their trilateral partnership countering China, North Korea and Russia.

Xi made sure to keep that partnership in check. China Central Television reported that during the summit, Xi stated that South Korea and China should “jointly uphold the international free trade system, keep the global industrial and supply chains secure, stable and unclogged, and oppose politicizing economic cooperation or overstretching the concept of security on such cooperation.”

That seems to be a warning against South Korea from joining the US’ economic sanctions targeting China in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Xi expressed hope that the two countries will “jointly practice true multilateralism.”

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter; Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

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