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The South Korean government is showing signs of efforts to manage its relationship with China.

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration had previously abandoned its strategic ambiguity toward the US and China to go all in on beefing up trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan as part of its “values-oriented diplomacy” approach. But in the wake of a recent North Korea-Russia summit, China has now taken on greater diplomatic importance to Seoul.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo spoke for 26 minutes with Chinese President Xi Jinping around the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday.

The ministry also stressed the possibility that Xi may visit South Korea.

“Before [the South Korean side] mentioned anything, President Xi said that he planned to ‘seriously consider’ a visit to South Korea,” it said.

The ministry also quoted Xi’s remarks on a trilateral summit with China and Japan that South Korea is scheduled to host this year.

“I hope that it can take place successfully at an appropriate time,” he reportedly said.

The ministry emphasized that in the wake of the summit between North Korea and Russia on Sept. 13, Seoul was working to manage relations with Beijing and prevent it from aligning itself closely with them.

In an interview Sunday on the MBN network, National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong said, “I think it suits our diplomatic interest now for us to approach our relationship with China in pursuit of common interests.”

“Since China doesn’t want the North Korean nuclear situation getting completely out of control either, I think the international community needs to emphasize the importance of China taking part in pressure on North Korea and the fact that this is its obvious duty as a permanent member of the UN Security Council,” he added.

Remarking on the possibility of Xi visiting South Korea, Cho said, “I don’t think it’s realistic [to expect it] within the year.”

“We’ll need to talk about it with each other for something like next year,” he continued.

The Yoon administration has gone all in on trilateral cooperation with Washington and Tokyo while abandoning the strategic ambiguity that past South Korean administrations have maintained toward Beijing and Moscow.

At a Sept. 1 ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, Yoon said, “Ambiguity in our diplomatic course will neither win trust nor uphold our national interests.”

But since the summit establishing greater closeness between North Korea and Russia, his administration has changed course to a more proactive diplomatic approach toward China.

China has shown a somewhat different stance from South Korea. In a briefing after Han and Xi’s meeting on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry merely reported pointed remarks by Xi, without mentioning the possibility of a South Korea visit.

The country’s Foreign Ministry reported Xi as saying that he hopes South Korea will meet it halfway to maintain the direction of friendly cooperation. The two countries can deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, he said.

It also quoted him as saying, “Because the Chinese and South Korean economies are so closely connected and the industry and supply networks are so deeply integrated, the only way for both sides to continue producing results is through greater cooperation on mutual interests. China is committed to a full-scale pursuit of Chinese-style modernization through high-quality development, and a population of over 1.4 billion people have entered a modernization process.”

The remarks amounted to Xi emphasizing the South Korean government’s closeness with the US and Japan and its distance from China in a meeting with Han while the latter was visiting the Asian Games as a kind of congratulatory envoy.

At the same time, Xi also suggested that China was working to manage its relationship with South Korea, which he referred to as a “close neighbor who cannot move away and an inextricable partner in cooperation.” He further asked Han to “send his regards” to Yoon.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said that the meeting between the South Korean and Chinese leaders “took place because China does not want to see a ‘new Cold War’ framework cementing itself in place between South Korea, the US, and Japan on the one side and North Korea, China and Russia on the other, and the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is worried about the economy worsening.”

“Xi may choose to adjust the timing for a South Korea visit while observing how the situation develops with South Korea, the US and Japan,” he suggested.

By Shin Min-jung, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]