First Phone Call Between Korean and Chinese Foreign Ministers... Differences Over 'Strengthening Quarantine for Arrivals from China'

Park Jin's First Call with New Chinese Foreign Minister... Qin Gang Expresses Concern over Entry Restrictions from China

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the evening of the 9th, Foreign Minister Park Jin held his first phone call with Qin Gang, the newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister, discussing the development of bilateral relations and cooperation measures. The discussion also included the South Korean government's recent strengthened quarantine measures, such as mandatory PCR testing for arrivals from China, implemented on the 30th of last month.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Minister Park had a congratulatory phone call with Minister Qin for about 50 minutes starting around 8:30 PM. Qin Gang, who served as ambassador to the United States in 2021, was appointed as the Chinese Foreign Minister on the 30th of last month, succeeding former Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

ROK: "Quarantine measures taken based on scientific grounds" China: "Expressed concerns, hopes for an objective attitude"

Minister Park explained that the recent quarantine measures taken by the South Korean government were based on scientific evidence, and expressed the intention for both countries to communicate and cooperate to resolve various regional and global issues, including stabilizing the COVID-19 situation and economic recovery.

The South Korean government, considering the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections within China, restricted the issuance of short-term visas for travelers from China to Korea and limited additional flights starting from the 30th of last month. Mandatory COVID-19 testing before and after entry was also enforced for arrivals from China. This was in response to the explosive increase in COVID-19 infections within China following the sudden easing of quarantine measures there.

However, during the call, Minister Qin expressed concerns about South Korea's recent temporary restrictions on arrivals from China and hoped that South Korea would adopt an objective and scientific attitude. Although this content was not included in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' press release, it was announced on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website.

Both Ministers Agree to Develop ROK-China Relations

Through this call, the two ministers agreed to develop a healthier and more mature ROK-China relationship based on mutual respect, reciprocity, and common interests, marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year. They also agreed to closely cooperate to smoothly implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders on the direction of bilateral relations during the ROK-China summit at the G20 in November.

Furthermore, they agreed to maintain momentum in exchanges between the heads of state, strengthen regular communication including mutual visits, and promote high-level exchanges and communication at various levels such as the 2+2 Foreign and Security Dialogue, vice-ministerial strategic dialogue, and vice-ministerial humanities exchange promotion committee. They also committed to working together to achieve tangible results in areas that citizens can feel, such as supply chain dialogues, follow-up negotiations on the FTA, fine dust, and climate change.

Minister Park emphasized that it is a common interest between South Korea and China to restrain North Korea from further provocations and to bring it to denuclearization talks, and requested China's constructive role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

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