China's Wang Yi reappointed as foreign minister heightening hopes for S. Korea-China relationship restoration
중국 외교라인 왕이 원톱체제 구축 한중관계 회복 기대감
China's outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang, who disappeared from the public eye for a month, has been replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi, who is known for being a friendly policymaker in general toward South Korea.
Our Lee Rae-hyun reports on how this may affect relations between Seoul and Beijing.
China's Wang Yi has got his old job back.
Beijing's top legislature reappointed on Tuesday former Foreign Minister Wang to the position he had held for 10 years until 2022.
Despite the appointment, Wang will still head the Communist Party of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission General Office, as its top diplomat.
Wang is an experienced diplomat who has a deep understanding of the diplomatic relationship with Seoul.
Experts say this could be a turning point for South Korea and China to improve their bilateral relationship which had been drifting for a while.
"By reappointing Wang as foreign minister, China appears to have moved its diplomatic policy toward easing Seoul-Beijing relations, rather than to pressuring Korea, as Wang has actively communicated with South Korea before."
The 69-year-old visited South Korea at least 5 times from his first inauguration as foreign minister in 2014, and actively communicated with his Korean counterparts on issues regarding the Korean peninsula, Northeast Asia, and other international matters.
From 2019 to 2021, Wang had visited South Korea for three consecutive years, showing how Seoul and Beijing sought to overcome the THAAD crisis and normalize relations.
Wang was reportedly scheduled to visit South Korea last year, but with Qin Gang's faster-than-expected appointment as a foreign minister, this had not been settled.
Wang had recently met South Korea's foreign affairs minister Park Jin in Indonesia, where he expressed his hope for the two countries' strategic ties to be restored.
Now, strengthened diplomatic ties between South Korea and China are expected, amid the recent Washington and Beijing decision to stabilize their relationship, and the need for Seoul and Beijing to cooperate considering the economic slowdown.
One expert says, however, that the Seoul-Beijing relationship is closely connected to U.S.-China ties, meaning that Beijing fighting back against Washington's trade rules, by controlling exports of chip raw materials, may affect South Korea.
Meanwhile, Qin Gang's removal as foreign minister came after less than seven months in the post.
China's state media reported the decision was made during an emergency session of the National People's Congress convened on Tuesday, with no reason being given.
Lee Rae-hyun, Arirang News.
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2023-07-26, 18:00 (KST)
