Why South Korean President Moon Jae-in hopes G7 summit doesn’t focus on China tensions

Seoul has walked a fine line in its approach to Beijing, which is South Korea’s largest trading partner and which has shown a willingness to retaliate economically

However, anti-China sentiment has reached historic highs in South Korea and Moon’s ruling party faces domestic pressure on the issue

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in has touted some of South Korea’s pandemic responses, such as aggressive tracking and tracing. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:57pm, 11 Jun 2021Updated: 2:01pm, 11 Jun 2021

As South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepared to depart on Friday for the G7 summit in the UK, talk of countering China threatened to overshadow Seoul’s efforts to be regarded as a major player on issues such as climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

South Korea is one of several guest nations invited to the G7 meeting as the rich democracies try to show the world they can still act in concert to tackle major crises by donating hundreds of millions of Covid-19 vaccines to poor countries and pledging to slow climate change.

“We will show our leadership at the G7 in formulating joint responses to pressing global challenges including health issues and climate change,” a senior presidential official told reporters.

Moon has touted some of South Korea’s pandemic responses such as aggressive tracking and tracing, avoiding widespread lockdowns while keeping cases relatively low, as a global model.

Under Moon, South Korea has committed to zero emissions by 2050 and unveiled a “Green New Deal” to harness investment in green technology as a way to recover from the pandemic and vowed to end funding coal plants around the region.

However, the summit is also expected to include discussions on free trade and countering Beijing’s growing influence. Another guest nation at the summit, Australia, has called on the G7 to back reform of the World Trade Organization to address the growing use of “economic coercion” amid a dispute with China.

Seoul has walked a fine line in its approach to Beijing, which is South Korea’s largest trading partner and which has shown a willingness to retaliate economically, as during a 2017 dispute over US anti-missile systems based in South Korea.