Japan’s ‘economic sanctions’ against South Korea will backfire: Chinese ambassador to Seoul
- Qiu Guohong says Tokyo will ‘suffer damage’ from its decision to curb exports of key materials to Seoul, in an apparent reference to the US-China trade war
- South Korea has upped the ante by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation about the dispute
There was no incidence in modern history where economic sanctions have brought a country to its knees
“There was no incidence in modern history where economic sanctions have brought a country to its knees,” he said.
Such economic retaliations would be neither effective nor secure international backing, he said.
“Japan will also suffer damage from this move and it will have to retract it in the end as other countries will have to do,” he said, in an apparent reference to the United States, with which China is engaged in a trade dispute that shows no signs of abating.
On the issue of the East Asian neighbours’ historical enmity, Japan was the perpetrator and South Korea was the victim, Qiu said.
“The perpetrator should humbly accept even if the victim makes somewhat excessive demands,” he said. “China, also a victim of Japanese militarism, naturally stands together with South Korea.”
“[Japan’s] measure is a discriminatory act directly targeting South Korea, and it was politically motivated following our court rulings on the forced labour [of Korean workers],” Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee told journalists. “Japan also violated its duty to run consistent, fair and reasonable trade rules by regulating trade for political reasons.”
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The court ruled that individual rights to seek compensation were still valid, even if Japan claimed that all compensation was settled when the countries normalised their diplomatic ties in 1965.
Tokyo said the export curbs had nothing to do with retaliation, and were to do with stepping up export controls on materials that could also be used for military purposes, accusing Seoul of laxity in preventing such materials from getting into the wrong hands.
In defiance of strong protests from South Korea, Japan last month pushed ahead with the removal of Asia’s fourth largest economy from its list of nations given preferential trading terms, subjecting more than 1,000 industrial materials to tougher export regulations.
Now that Seoul has filed a complaint with the WTO, South Korea and Japan have to hold bilateral talks to resolve the issue over the next two months. If they fail to do so, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body will establish a panel to look deeper into the case.
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The entire process is expected to take more than three years, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.
“China-South Korea relations are like that of a married couple who can’t afford to divorce. No matter how close a married couple’s relations may be, there are always ups and downs,” Qiu said.
