By Sanxuan

In October this year, the heads of South Korea's four major chaebols visited the US together and met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Now, the heads of the four chaebols are going to visit China again.

How many of the heads of South Korea's four major chaebols do you know?

According to sources, the heads of South Korea's four major chaebols will visit China, led by Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group. The visit is tentatively scheduled for early next year, with 200 business representatives accompanying them.

Chey Tae-won also serves as the president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce, which is why he is leading the delegation. Two months ago, Chey Tae-won had already visited China, and he has ample experience and qualifications.

It is worth noting that this visit to China is organized by the Korean Chamber of Commerce, not the South Korean government. However, the public generally believes that it is a prelude to President Lee Jae-yong's visit to China. Previously, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-ah mentioned that the president's visit to China would be promoted in early next year.

You can see from this lineup that South Korea has made great efforts. It should be noted that the last time South Korean business leaders sent a large-scale delegation to China was during the Moon Jae-in era, when it was also to accompany the president's visit to China.

President Lee Jae-yong of South Korea

This grand scene contrasts sharply with the situation of Japanese delegations being unable to visit China. Since Takahashi Hayato offended China, many Japanese delegations have applied for visits to China, but none have been successful so far.

China's position is clear: unless Takahashi Hayato apologizes and withdraws his remarks, there is no discussion. It's not that the Chinese government doesn't want to give face, but the Chinese people won't accept it. Even if the Japanese delegation comes, no one will welcome them, and they will end up sitting on cold benches.

In fact, China does not need South Korea and Japan to be overly pro-China. After all, their alliance with the United States is the cornerstone of their foreign policy. What China hopes for is only that they be pragmatic enough.

If they look towards "money," they can do business. If they constantly put values and conflicts on the table, then there is no need for cooperation.

Clearly evident

For example, Japan could cooperate with China to counter the impact of the US tariff war. But Takahashi Hayato insisted on provoking China over the Taiwan issue. Now, Japan's tourism industry has suffered greatly, and other industries are also hard to remain unaffected. It can only be said that they brought it upon themselves.

South Korean former president Yoon Suk-yeol was the same. In order to please the US, he unconditionally criticized China, and now he is in trouble, ultimately failing to escape the "Blue House curse."

Compared to them, Lee Jae-yong is much more pragmatic. He also places the Republic of Korea-US alliance first, but he will not provoke China. After all, South Korea's trade depends on China; otherwise, it would end up in the same situation as Japan.

Aside from trade, another key word for Lee Jae-yong's visit to China is North Korea. South Korea hopes that China can act as a mediator to promote the resumption of dialogue and contact on the Korean Peninsula.

Korean military ordered to retreat

Previously, Lee Jae-yong also issued some policies that were friendly toward North Korea, but did not receive positive responses. On one hand, Yoon Suk-yeol did too much damage to inter-Korean relations, making it difficult to repair in a short time. On the other hand, Lee Jae-yong has only just taken office, and the North Korean side needs to carefully observe, listen to words, and watch actions, to avoid being deceived again.

The latest friendly policy of Lee Jae-yong's government toward North Korea is to order the frontline troops to "move further south" on the border issues between North and South Korea. As is well known, the actual situation along the North-South Korean border is not as clear-cut as the 38th parallel, and many boundary markers have become blurred, making it difficult to distinguish whose territory it is.

Under this context, Lee Jae-yong ordered the Korean military to retreat, aiming to avoid more border friction. As for the response from North Korea, we will have to wait for the future.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7586990526894473779/

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