Yoon Seok-yeol ‘Market economy, Korea-US-Japan system’ Lee Chang ‘Good neighborliness and common interests’
President Yoon Seok-yeol called for China to adopt a ‘market economy, trilateral system between Korea, the United States and Japan’, and Chinese Premier Li Chang announced the ‘principle of good neighborliness and common interests of both countries.’
President Yoon met with the Chinese Prime Minister on the 17th while attending the ASEAN Summit and said, "In the Korea-China economic relationship, China and Korea, which have grown together in the market economy and the global free trade order, have achieved mutual exchange and cooperation with the international community under multilateralism." “If we trade while faithfully observing the norms and framework of economic relations, the bilateral relationship will be able to sustain predictable economic and investment activities without any problems,” he said, calling for economic relations based on a ‘market economy’ and ‘free trade’. .
Prime Minister Li said, "Let us pursue a new relationship while adhering to the principle of good neighborliness, and let us further strengthen our mature relationship of trust by promoting common interests and taking into consideration each other's concerns." A ‘common interest’ system was requested.
President Yoon continued, "The worse the North Korean nuclear issue gets, the more the cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan will inevitably become stronger. I hope that China faithfully plays its responsible role on this issue and that the North Korea issue does not become an obstacle to Korea-China relations." Regarding China, he announced 'ROK-US-Japan trilateral cooperation' based on 'responsibility for North Korea's nuclear weapons'. Prime Minister Lee said about Korea-China relations, "South Korea and China are close neighbors, and if close neighbors cooperate and get along well together than distant relatives, it will be much more precious and valuable." He said, "By accelerating the second round of Korea-China FTA negotiations, the two countries will become more open and create an upgraded free trade agreement," referring to the fact that Korea-China trade exceeded $360 billion last year and that Korea is China's second-largest trading partner. An official from the Presidential Office revealed on this day that he expressed his intention, “I want to do it.”
President Yoon said, “As Indo-Pacific countries, Korea, the United States, and Japan will continue to build a free and open Indo-Pacific based on respect for international law, common norms, and common values,” using the “Camp David Principles” signed at the Korea-U.S.-Japan Summit on the 18th of last month. “We support a free and peaceful unified Korean Peninsula.” We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as essential to the security and prosperity of the international community. “We recognize that there is no change in our basic position on Taiwan, and we call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” it stated.
In ‘Camp David Spirit,’ President Yoon said, “Regarding the dangerous and aggressive actions we have recently witnessed in the South China Sea that support illegal maritime territorial claims by the People’s Republic of China, we recall the positions announced by each country and support India. “We strongly oppose any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in Pacific waters,” he declared.
In the ‘Spirit of Camp David,’ President Yoon said, “We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and urge North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs. “We urge all UN member states to fully implement all relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” he declared.
At this Korea-China meeting, President Yoon said, “The worse the North Korean nuclear issue gets, the more the cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan will inevitably become stronger,” and requested China to “fulfill its role and responsibility as a permanent member of the Security Council.”
Liu Xiaoming, China's chief representative for North Korean nuclear negotiators and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, met with NSC Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell in Washington on April 8 last year and said, "I believe that the UN Security Council must play a constructive role in the political resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue, and that any action will be taken." “I pointed out that it should help ease the situation and promote dialogue, and should not add fuel to the fire,” he said.
The Chinese representative's remarks on this day conveyed China's opposition, as a permanent member, to the United States' request for additional sanctions against North Korea in response to North Korea's launch of a continental-capable ballistic missile (ICBM) on March 24. Based on the position that strengthening is directly related to North Korea's nuclear weapons, the principle of 'suspension of military training and simultaneous progress of North Korean nuclear negotiations' was proposed.
In an editorial on the 8th, the Global Times, a Chinese state-run English-language newspaper, said, “It appears that Korea is breaking away from its relatively independent and balanced role and turning into an outpost for the United States to keep China in check in Northeast Asia,” adding, “After the Camp David summit between the United States, Japan, and Korea. It is clear that the Korean government has gained great satisfaction from the friendship between the 'three countries', but there is a big difference between the government's perception and the views of the outside world, including Korean society. “The Korean government should strive for regional peace and stability rather than changing the order of China, Japan, and Korea and making them ‘factors of uncertainty,’” he argued.