Xi Jinping’s South Korea visit reflects a region in flux
The president's visit shows that China now shares common ground with South Korea both economically and diplomatically
China’s president on Friday wrapped up a state visit to South Korea that was heavier on symbolism than substance, but also exposed the slowly but steadily shifting bedrock of historical Cold War alliances in East Asia.
Xi Jinping’s trip had been seen as a pointed snub to North Korea -- his decision to visit Seoul before Pyongyang a sign of Beijing’s growing frustration with its wayward, unpredictable nuclear-armed ally.
Mao Zedong once declared China and North Korea to be as close as “lips and teeth” -- a bond forged in the 1950-53 Korean War against the South and US-led UN forces.
But Beijing’s patience with the North’s relentless nuclear brinkmanship has worn thin and Xi’s visit was a clear reflection of the common ground it now shares with the South -- economically and, to a growing extent, diplomatically.
If South Korea hoped this might all translate into a joint, strongly-worded warning to the North over its nuclear programme, it was disappointed.
The statement that emerged from Xi’s summit with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Thursday didn’t even reference “North Korea” directly, calling instead for the “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” -- a formulation long-favoured by Beijing.
Rather than North Korea, Xi ended up expressing common cause with South Korea over an older regional rival -- Japan.