After considering for more than 10 days, Lee Jae-myung decided not to attend the Chinese military parade. What reasons did the South Korean side give? How will Lee Jae-myung's decision affect Sino-South Korean relations?

At the beginning of this month, South Korean media reported that China had inquired through diplomatic channels whether President Lee Jae-myung was willing to attend the Chinese military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan on September 3rd. Regarding this topic, the South Korean government has not given a clear answer so far.

However, after considering for more than 10 days, the "JoongAng Ilbo" website revealed that senior officials in the presidential office made a statement on July 13th, indicating that it is expected that Lee Jae-myung will find it difficult to attend the Chinese military parade and provided two reasons.

The first reason is related to South Korea's diplomatic schedule.

According to the existing planned schedule, President Lee Jae-myung will visit Washington in July and August to seek a meeting with the US president. At the same time, a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of Japan and South Korea is also planned in August. In September, Lee Jae-myung plans to go to the United States again to attend the UN General Assembly, so there may be no extra time to go to China.

Naturally, a deeper reason is that South Korea still places the US-Japan alliance in a more priority position. South Korea is worried that if it agrees to China's invitation to visit China first, it might cause doubts from the United States about the foreign policy of the Lee Jae-myung government, which could have an adverse impact on the trade negotiations between the US and South Korea.

The second reason is that South Korea demands "diplomatic parity" with China.

This senior official in the presidential office revealed that in late 2017, former President Moon Jae-in had visited China on his own initiative, so the South Korean side believes that it is now China's turn to have its top leadership visit South Korea, which is also why President Lee Jae-myung finds it difficult to visit Beijing.

However, from China's perspective, this requirement by South Korea is not reasonable. Because when former President Moon Jae-in visited China in 2017, he actively repaired the Sino-South Korean relationship, largely because the previous president Park Geun-hye insisted on deploying the THAAD system domestically, seriously threatening China's security interests. Therefore, it was South Korea that damaged the Sino-South Korean relationship, and therefore, it needed to take the initiative to mend the relationship.

Now, Lee Jae-myung faces a similar situation. His predecessor, President Yoon Suk-yeol, has stubbornly followed the United States, damaging China's interests, and even made erroneous statements on the Taiwan issue multiple times, causing Sino-South Korean relations to reach a freezing point. Although Lee Jae-myung has clearly stated that he will not interfere in the Taiwan issue and promised to strengthen Sino-South Korean economic and trade cooperation after taking office, all these cannot just remain on words but should be translated into actual actions, otherwise it will only make people think that Lee Jae-myung "gives empty promises without real actions."

There is not much time left for Lee Jae-myung. Because it is highly likely that China will participate in the APEC Summit held in Gyeongju, South Korea in November. If Lee Jae-myung still cannot make up his mind to visit China before then, even if the highest-level meetings between China and South Korea can be held in South Korea, the mutual trust basis between the two sides will be very fragile.

During the Moon Jae-in administration, the Sino-South Korean relationship was able to develop significantly because Moon Jae-in was able to withstand external pressure and dared to say "no" to the United States, allowing South Korea to gain development space in the context of the Sino-US rivalry.

Therefore, if Lee Jae-myung refuses China's invitation due to concerns about the US reaction, it will inevitably raise doubts about whether he can uphold the determination to pursue an independent and autonomous foreign policy. If South Korea continues to follow the US blindly, then in essence, Lee Jae-myung will be no different from Yoon Suk-yeol.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7527244959980749362/

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