뉴스레터

This year (2012) is the monumental year marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and China. As the Korean saying goes, a decade is a time long enough to see changes even in the rivers and the mountains. To be sure, the last two decades have seen prodigious changes in Korea-China relations. Twenty years ago, while Korea was hurrying to establish diplomatic ties with China, China was relaxed, saying that once the water starts to flow, it will form a brook. What we see twenty years later is not a brook but vast routes open in the air and the sea. Last year, there was a traffic of about 6.68 million people crossing the air and sea routes between Korea and China to visit the other country, and of goods worth 245.6 billion dollars (statistics by China) across the Yellow Sea.

Over the last two decades, Korea-China relations have continued to make remarkable progress in all areas, including economy and trade, human exchange, culture, and politics and diplomacy. The bilateral trade, which stood at 6.4 billion dollars at the time when diplomatic ties were established, has increased 38-fold to 245.6 billion dollars. Today, China is Korea's largest trading partner, and Korea China's third largest. The Korea's trade amount with China is larger than its trade amounts with Japan and the U.S., its second and third largest trading partners, put together. Korea's investments in China (cumulative total), which were no larger than 200 million dollars in 1992, have passed the 50 billion-dollar mark. The performance of Korean companies operating in China is also astonishing. Last year, the Samsung Group made 60 billion dollars and Hyundai-Kia Motors made and sold 1.14 million cars in China. During the last year, about 2.5 million Chinese visited Korea, and about 4.18 million Koreans China. The numbers of Korean and Chinese students studying in the other country is 68,000 and 64,000, respectively, the largest of all other foreign students.

China and Korea have achieved remarkable economic growth over the last 20 years. The growth of both countries is making a significant contribution to the development of the bilateral relations. China has grown rapidly at an annual average rate of 10 percent over the last 20 years into the world's second largest economic power. Korea, the world's 13th largest economy, has emerged as a world-class powerhouse in mobile phone, shipbuilding, and automobile among other areas.

The Establishment of Korea-China Diplomatic Ties is a Successful Result of China's Opening and Practical Policies

In 1992, Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China's reform and opening up, gave impetus to the reform and opening efforts during his South Tour Speeches and made the decision to establish diplomatic ties with Korea. The establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Korea is considered a successful result of China's opening and practical policies, and has made a significant contribution to the economic growth of both countries. When we drink water from a well, we should remember the person who dug the well. Likewise, we should remember the Roh Tae-Woo administration which laid a foundation for furthering relationship with socialist states, such as China and the Soviet Union, by promoting the northern diplomacy that resulted in the establishment of diplomatic ties with those states. The successive Korean administrations have built on this foundation, upgrading and furthering the country's relationship with China.

Of course, the current Korea-China relations are not completely satisfactory. For instance, even though the Korea-China relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership in 2008, it is questioned by many if the relationship really befits such a term. The bilateral relations have faced many challenges, big and small, over the last 20 years, including the issues of North Korea, such as the North Korean nuclear issue and the North Korean defectors issue, and the issues of historical distortion, dispute over the origin of culture, and the illegal fishing in the West Sea, to name a few. Especially in 2010, there was a fierce storm sweeping across Korea-China relations as China, regarding the repeated provocations by North Korea, including the ROKS Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeongdo bombing, urged the Korean government to keep calm in dealing with the situations to prevent them from getting worse. China's behavior biased toward North Korea left us feeling disappointed.

The rapid rise of China is challenging the supremacy of the U.S, and the power struggle between the U.S. and China is influencing Korea-China relations. I think that Korea-China relations will continue to face quite a few challenges. The rise of China could be either opportunity or threat to us. The key is our reaction. China could be either a land of blessing or a disaster depending on how we deal with it.

Needs Strategy to Further the Bilateral Relations

On the occasion of the 20th year of the bilateral diplomatic ties, it is necessary for us to reflect on our overall relationship with China and refine our diplomatic strategy and reinforce the system by which the strategy is executed in order to make forward-looking development in the bilateral relations. This year is when a new supreme leader will be elected in both Korea and China. We are going to elect a helmsman responsible for maintaining peace in the Korean peninsula and steering us toward the paths of reconciliation and unification between the two Koreas for the next five years. I hope to see the election of a new president who has profound diplomatic vision with a deep understanding of international relations, specifically of the four powers--the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia--and North Korea, and the capacity to execute his vision thoroughly.