China should be part of process to formally end Korean war, envoy says

Ambassador Xing Haiming says China keeps ‘open attitude’ on South Korean president’s push for a declaration

Beijing has backed the proposal unveiled in September despite ambivalence from Pyongyang and resistance from Washington

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Xing Haiming, China’s ambassador to South Korea, covers a casket containing the remains of a Chinese soldier with a flag during a ceremony at the Incheon airport in September. The remains of 109 Chinese soldiers who died during the Korean war were returned. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 6:30pm, 23 Nov 2021Updated: 6:36pm, 23 Nov 2021

China must be involved in talks on a declaration to formally end the Korean war, its top envoy to South Korea said, again voicing Beijing’s support for Seoul’s proposal.

While Beijing has over the years publicly backed efforts for an agreement to end the conflict – something Pyongyang is ambivalent about and Washington has resisted – it has seldom clarified its own role in the process.

China keeps “an open attitude” on matters related to South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s push for an end-of-war declaration before he steps down next year, ambassador Xing Haiming said in a television interview with South Korea’s YTN on Monday.

But as a country involved in the conflict and one of the parties to the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement, China should be consulted on efforts to push for peace talks and declare a formal end to the Korean war, he said.

“The key issue is the lack of trust among all parties, such as the deadlocked dialogue between North Korea and the United States” and simmering tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang, he said. “China will resolutely maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, continue our efforts to promote peace and dialogue and support all efforts that are conducive to easing the situation and promoting talks.”

In another interview last month with Korea JoongAng Daily, Xing described Moon’s initiative as a “stepping stone” towards permanent peace on the Korean peninsula and said China “cannot be left out of any process to reach an end-of-war declaration or peace treaty”.

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