China tells South Korea not to allow ‘third party’ interference
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi urges his counterpart Park Jin to prevent outside forces from interfering in the relationship between the two countries
- Beijing urges Seoul to resist efforts to sever the supply chain between the two countries
China has told South Korea to strengthen its “strategic autonomy” and exclude “third-party” interference.
In an 80-minute phone conversation, with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing hoped Seoul would stand against supply chain decoupling and back efforts to resume three-way communications with Japan.
Wang said that the two countries should guard against interference from external forces and refrain from ideological confrontations but continue to enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples and stick to friendly cooperation, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.
“The development of bilateral relations has an internal driving force and inevitable logic, and should not be influenced by a third party,” Wang said.
“It is hoped that South Korea will strengthen its strategic autonomy, reject various anti-globalisation manoeuvres and attempts to decouple or sever supply chains.”
South Korea and Japan have also joined the US and Taiwan in the Chip 4 alliance, a project to build a semiconductor supply network that is widely seen as an effort to counter Beijing.