Downgrading China! The diplomatic arrangement of South Korea is very special! Since the new South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-hak took office, he has visited the United States, Japan and India. However, what is unexpected is that as our country, the most important neighbor of South Korea, when South Korea deals with us, before the South Korean Foreign Minister visits China, South Korea made another arrangement. South Korean media reported that Lee Jae-myung is preparing to send a special envoy to visit China around August 25.

To be honest, in the case where Lee Jae-myung is likely not to attend the September 3rd military parade, the importance of South Korea's relations with China itself raises a big question mark for us. Now, after the South Korean Foreign Minister has already visited the United States, Japan and India, instead of visiting China, South Korea chose to start its foreign diplomacy with a special envoy. This shows that in the context of the Sino-US competition, South Korea is being very cautious in handling its relations with China.

Of course, why did South Korea send a special envoy? It is highly unlikely to be because of attending the military parade, but more likely to be a special arrangement for the 33rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea on August 24th. In fact, compared to high-level visits by foreign ministers, visiting as a special envoy is a form of downgrading. In diplomatic practice, special envoys usually focus on a single specific issue, while foreign ministers' diplomatic activities often involve broader bilateral and multilateral agenda items.

The Foreign Minister, as a core diplomatic official of the government, his visit usually represents an important interaction at the national level, with higher symbolic significance and hierarchy. Therefore, we can see that since Lee Jae-myung came to power, although the China-South Korea relations have improved, it must be acknowledged that the resumption and deepening of China-South Korea relations face practical obstacles and need time. Of course, even though the opening of China-South Korea relations did not start from a very high level initially, we believe that with the deepening of mutual interactions, the space for China-South Korea cooperation is still very large.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840779943831625/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.