Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan plans to attend the inauguration of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol next week, the two countries announced on Friday. Beijing is concerned that Seoul may be moving closer to the United States and Yoon has vowed to strengthen the alliance in the face of growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea and as Washington pushes to keep Beijing’s growing influence in check. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Wang would be travelling as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping for Tuesday’s ceremony. US President Joe Biden will visit South Korea after the ceremony and meet Yoon on May 21 before travelling to Japan to meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Biden and Kishida will also meet the Australian and Japanese prime ministers at a gathering of the Quad security group . The United States is sending Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, as the head of its delegation to the inauguration, according to Yoon’s team. As South Korea’s Yoon reaches out to Japan, hopes are high for a reset in ties Liu Jiangyong, a specialist in China-Japan relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said Wang’s trip came at a critical moment. China has been watching closely how Yoon would balance his foreign policy priorities: enhancing the alliance with the US and improving ties with Japan, but also stabilising relations with China. “First, will South Korea meet the expectations of Japan and the US in joining the Indo-Pacific strategy?” Liu said. “From China’s perspective, the Quad and the Indo-Pacific strategy are efforts to exclude China and build alignment among countries hostile towards China.” Liu said Washington was hoping to strengthen its three-way relationship with Tokyo and Seoul. “The trio are likely to edge closer politically considering their similar stance on the Ukraine war, but it remains too early to tell if they are able to form a trilateral military alliance to target China and North Korea. It also remains to be seen if Seoul will follow Japan’s example in exporting weapons to Ukraine and even showing support for Taiwan,” he said. “And, to what extent will Yoon be able to repair ties with Japan? Considering the structural problems in Japan-South Korea ties because of history and territorial issues, it’s unlikely that Tokyo will make major concessions to Seoul.” South Korea president-elect to sternly deal with North Korea, reset China ties From Japan, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama will attend the inauguration. Yoon takes office amid myriad challenges, with North Korea conducting weapons tests ahead of his inauguration. On Wednesday, North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast in its 14th known test this year, after leader Kim Jong-un vowed to develop the country’s nuclear forces “at the fastest possible speed”. Additional reporting by Reuters