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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian speaks during a daily briefing at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing on Feb. 24, 2020. (AP/Yonhap News)

China’s Foreign Ministry voiced concern about the leaders of South Korea and the US mentioning the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea in a joint statement on Friday, characterizing the reference as “interference” in its domestic affairs.

But China’s tone here was noticeably softer than when it harshly criticized a joint statement by the leaders of the US and Japan last month that China said “grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs.”

China’s moderation appears to reflect that the South Korea-US joint statement didn’t include any direct criticism of China, in contrast with the US-Japan joint statement, which openly expressed the two countries’ intention to contain China. Furthermore, the South Korean government had been in close communication with the Chinese about its upcoming summit with the US.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian voiced China’s concern about the South Korea-US joint statement during the regular briefing on Monday.

“The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair. It bears on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and allows no interference by external forces,” Zhao said.

“We urge relevant countries to speak and act prudentially on the Taiwan question and refrain from playing with fire,” he added.

In the joint statement released after their summit on Friday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden mentioned “the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

“The United States and the Republic of Korea oppose all activities that undermine, destabilize, or threaten the rules-based international order,” Moon and Biden went on to say. “We pledge to maintain peace and stability […] in the South China Sea and beyond.”

“With regard to the South China Sea issue, all countries enjoy the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, and there is no problem with it. Relevant countries know these [things] very clearly,” Zhao said.

“We believe that the development of US-[South Korea] relations should be conducive to promoting regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity, rather than the opposite, still less harmful to the interests of third parties including China,” he added.

The Chinese government’s official response came three days after Moon and Biden released their joint statement.

Zhao’s remarks Monday were strikingly different in tone from China’s response to the joint statement released by the leaders of the US and Japan on April 16. In that statement, Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga brought up not only Taiwan but also Hong Kong, the Uighurs in Xinjiang and Tibet. Their statement even mentioned the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands in Chinese), which are claimed by both China and Japan.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately posted a statement in Q&A format on the evening of April 17, which was on the weekend. In the statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the US-Japan joint statement “grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs and severely violates basic norms governing international relations. China deplores and rejects it.”

“While talking about [freedom and openness], the US and Japan are actually ganging up to form cliques and fanning bloc confrontation. This anachronistic move runs counter [to today’s trends],” the Ministry said in its statement.

“We urge the US and Japan to [. . .] abide by the one-China principle and immediately stop meddling in China’s domestic affairs and harming Chinese interests. China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests.”

The change in tone appears to reflect China’s decision that relations with South Korea are more manageable than relations with Japan, which has made clear its opposition to China.

“We’re constantly in deliberation with China, and China also seems to understand South Korea’s position,” a Blue House official said while explaining the results of Moon’s visit to the US during a meeting with reporters on Monday.

This official also addressed the reference to the Taiwan Strait, which made its first appearance in the South Korea-US joint statement. “This was a general and conventional expression of our basic position that political stability in the region is also important for Korea given the special nature of cross-strait relations.”

China conveyed its diverging reactions to the two statements not only in its choice of language but also in its diplomatic response. While criticizing the US-Japan joint statement, China said it had “stated our solemn position to the US and Japan through the diplomatic channel,” but China made no mention of a “solemn position” in regard to the South Korea-US joint statement.

A diplomatic source in Beijing said that South Korea is “communicating closely with China about pressing issues, including its joint statement with the US,” implying that China hadn’t raised an official complaint through diplomatic channels.

A Blue House official confirmed that South Korea-China relations hadn’t changed after Moon and Biden’s summit.

“I understand that one of China’s most senior officials will be attending the 2021 Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals Seoul Summit,” the official said, referring to a Seoul-based event that will kick off on Sunday.

By Jung In-hwan, Beijing correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]