Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister, Likely to Visit South Korea on the 25th

Likely to Visit Seoul After Japan Trip on the 24th
Japan-South Korea Officials Face U.S. High-Pressure Tactics

Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, held a press conference at the Great Hall of the People on May 24, the third day of the National People's Congress (NPC), where he spoke about foreign policy and international relations.

Wang, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister in charge of diplomacy, is reported to visit South Korea on the 25th.

According to diplomatic sources on the 20th, Wang is coordinating a schedule to visit Tokyo, Japan on the 24th, followed by Seoul the next day, the 25th. On the same day, Japan's NHK broadcast reported that Wang is expected to visit Japan starting on the 24th and hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. This visit by Wang to Japan was arranged after political schedules were discussed between Japan and China following the launch of the Suga Cabinet in September.

It is widely expected that Wang will hold a Korea-China foreign ministers' meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha around the 26th, the day after his visit to South Korea. The agenda is likely to include ways to cooperate between Korea and China amid US-China tensions, as well as joint cooperation on the COVID-19 pandemic. Particular attention will be paid to whether progress can be made on discussions regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea.

Earlier, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau in charge of Chinese diplomacy, met with Suh Hoon, Director of the South Korean National Security Office, in Busan at the end of August and agreed to expedite President Xi's visit to South Korea once the COVID-19 situation stabilizes. On the 18th of this month, Xing Haiming, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, reaffirmed this position during a seminar hosted by the Chinese Embassy, stating in a keynote speech and to reporters, "Once the COVID-19 situation stabilizes, South Korea has been designated as the first country to visit. That has not changed." However, as South Korea's COVID-19 situation has worsened again, there are also views that President Xi's visit within this year will be difficult to realize.

Wang's visits to South Korea and Japan come immediately after Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, was elected president in the US presidential election. Similar to the Trump administration, the Biden administration is expected to continue a strong pressure strategy against China, so this is interpreted as China managing its relations with South Korea and Japan accordingly.

Meanwhile, NHK reported that the Japanese government plans to confirm the importance of communication for stabilizing China-Japan relations during talks with Wang and intends to express concerns about China's maritime expansion. Japan, mindful of China's strengthened presence in the East China Sea and South China Sea, is enhancing cooperation with the US, Australia, India, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to realize a "free and open Indo-Pacific," and China is showing caution toward these moves.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.