China’s decision to start visit in Seoul sends strong message to North Korea

China’s President Xi Jinping arrives in Seoul today on his first visit to the Korean peninsula, and his choice of South Korea to kick off his mission sends a strong message to Pyongyang to avoid any forms of provocation.

Traditionally Chinese leaders visit Pyongyang first. China backed North Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953) and the ideological allies describe each other as being “as close and lips and teeth”.

Relations between South Korea and China have been improving steadily in recent years, as trade links and regional co-ordination improve.

China is North Korea’s only significant ally, and aid and investment has largely kept the North’s ailing economy afloat in recent years. China has tended to avoid participating too readily in international sanctions against the North over its nuclear ambitions.

However, recent unilateral moves by Pyongyang have undermined China’s desired role as an honest broker in efforts to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and it has supported United Nations moves to sanction the North.

Regional politics

By keeping China at a distance, North Korea has encouraged closer links with the South, analysts said.

The North Koreans underlined their defiance to international pressure by firing two short-range projectiles into waters off its east coast, a day before Mr Xi visits for a summit with his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye.

South Korea had rejected North Korea’s proposals to reduce tensions, including the cancellation of annual drills between Seoul and Washington, and the North responded by firing missiles, with a range of 180km, from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan. The projectiles harmlessly landed in the sea yesterday morning, according to South Korean defence officials.

China is South Korea’s top trading partner, and two-way trade between China and South Korea exceeded $270 billion in 2013, up 7 per cent year on year and equal to South Korea’s trade volume with the US and Japan combined.

“Promoting bilateral trade is an important issue,” Qu Xing, head of the China Institute of International Studies, told the Beijing News.

Finding a deal on a planned free trade zone would do much to help in expanding bilateral ties.

“At the same time, discussion of the hot regional topics will be inevitable. China’s diplomacy can’t be swayed by other countries’ suspicion and we can’t set our diplomatic agenda based on the other countries’ suspicion,” said Mr Qu.