Chinese envoy voices caution over ‘third-party factors’ influencing S. Korea-China ties

Bilateral relations between South Korea and China should not be influenced by "third-party factors," Beijing's top envoy to Seoul said Wednesday, stressing that the two countries have to make their own decisions about their relationship. Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming made the remarks at a forum, apparently referring to the U.S.-led moves to coalesce its allies like South Korea and like-minded countries into smaller groupings for cooperation in regional security, supply chains and other issues. "We need to address third-party factors in an appropriate manner," Xing said during the forum hosted by the Institute for Global Strategy and Cooperation, a Seoul-based think tank. "The development of the friendly cooperation between China and South Korea and making sure that it benefits the peoples of the two countries are something that we have to decide on our own," Xing said. Xing's remarks also came after South Korea and China agreed to further boost their strategic partnership, including hold ing a security dialogue and resuming negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement, during the one-on-one talks between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang earlier this week. The talks took place on the sidelines of the rare trilateral summit the two countries held with Japan on Monday. Highlighting that South Korea is an important neighbor and trustworthy partner for China, Xing called on Seoul to "not separate" the relationship with Beijing "based on values." "We hope that South Korea is wary of small anti-China groups and continues the partnership to facilitate the mutual development as we respect each other's common interests," Xing said. The tripartite partnership among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan has also been seen as one of those values-sharing minilateral groups, along with the AUKUS security partnership of the U.S., Australia and Britain. Xing also said that South Korea's alliance with the United States and its relations with China are equally important to Seoul . "South Korea's efforts to develop ties with the U.S., and also with China, do not go against one another," he said. Also speaking at the forum, Wi Sung-lac, a lawmaker-elect who has served as South Korea's top nuclear envoy, suggested that Beijing should acknowledge the fact that Seoul is a U.S. ally when it comes to managing its bilateral ties with Seoul. Wi also called for China's more proactive role in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations. Source: Yonhap News Agency