A Balancing Act: South Korean President Lee Visits Both China and Japan
Anon Yu Henriksen, International News Staff Writer, BA International Relations and Korean
January was a busy month for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who met with both China’s top leader Xi Jinping and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi within the span of a week. As relations between South Korea, China, and Japan are complex, committing such high level diplomatic visits in East Asia is known to be an intensely intricate task. While trade relations between the three are generally good, issues related to history and security often create friction. Japan’s history as a colonial power is a particularly touchy topic for Korea-Japan relations, while the two come together in a US-led security system designed to counter China. This, in turn, complicates Korea-China relations. In a web of commonalities and antagonisms, President Lee walks on a diplomatic tightrope.
However, Lee’s visits signal an attempt to improve relations with both rather than siding with one. Lee met with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing on January 5th, marking the first visit to Beijing by a South Korean leader in over five years. Behind the smiley selfie the two took with their respective wives, there were also disagreements. The large number of US troops stationed in South Korea, which are meant to defend the country from China, Russia, and North Korea, have long tensioned Seoul-Beijing bilateral ties. However, strong economic ties, expanding cultural exchanges, and improved cooperation in recent months have created a period of relative friendliness. Lee himself described his visit to China as a ‘significant turning point’ in this process of improving bilateral ties. In fact, the improvement of relations is one of Lee’s core policy priorities, as Beijing could serve as a channel for engagement with North Korea.
The advancement of inter-Korean relations has been a long-standing objective of Lee’s liberal party. From the Chinese side, Xi emphasised the two countries’ shared history of resistance to Japanese militarism and its current-day relevance amid Japanese statements on Taiwan that Beijing has branded an ‘act of aggression.’ Analysts believe Beijing is eager to improve relations with Seoul to pull the latter closer to China.
Shortly after his visit to China, Lee visited Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in her hometown, Nara, on January 12th. Their friendly tone was perhaps best captured by the viral drum performance the two leaders gave together. This is despite multiple sensitive spots in Seoul-Tokyo relations, most prominently over issues arising from the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. Meanwhile, both countries are key parts of the same US-led security system.
Takaichi highlighted that the visit helped improve both security and economic relations in a time of increased regional tension — likely a nod to the dispute with Beijing over her Taiwan statements. This places Lee in a difficult position between two neighbours, each seeking to draw Seoul into their own camps.
Viewed as left-leaning and China-friendly, there were initial fears in Tokyo that Lee would tilt too far towards Beijing. Such worries likely led to Takaichi approaching the so-called ‘history issue’ with more lenience than typically expected of a conservative Japanese leader. South Korea and Japan have reportedly agreed to commit joint DNA tests of the remains of the Chosei Coal Mine tragedy victims, of which 136 were Korean forced labourers taken to Japan during colonial rule.In Korean politics, closer ties with Japan and China have often been portrayed as a mutually exclusive choice. However, Lee has shown that it is at least possible to attempt to cultivate friendly relations with both neighbours. The BBC reports that Lee’s pragmatic diplomacy has boosted his approval ratings at home. Meanwhile, some question how long this period of largely positive relations will last, noting that all parties appear to have ulterior motives behind their friendly efforts.
