By Kim Rahn
China seems uncomfortable and dissatisfied with the agreements reached at last week's inter-Korean summit about establishing peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, because they may sideline China or at least reduce the country's role in North Korea's denuclearization.
Such discomfort is shown by the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping is the only one among leaders of countries involved in the Korean Peninsula issue who has not had a phone conversation with President Moon Jae-in since the summit.
After Friday's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moon discussed the outcome over the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump Saturday night, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday morning and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday evening.
But Moon and Xi have not had a phone conversation yet. Cheong Wa Dae officials said it was because of Xi's domestic events, saying the two leaders would talk soon. An official said National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong already briefed Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Qiu Guhong on the summit results Sunday.
However, in early March, Xi did meet with Chung who visited Beijing after his trip to Pyongyang and Washington, despite having other major political events.
So, political analysts regard the lack of contact as an expression of China's discomfort and concern over the possibility of being sidelined in future negotiations on the peninsula.
In the Panmunjeom Declaration, the two Koreas agreed to pursue trilateral meetings involving them and the U.S., or quadrilateral ones including China, to declare an end to the Korean War this year and turn the armistice into a peace treaty.
Regarding this, Cheong Wa Dae officials said the declaration of an end to the war would be a “political declaration” and thus may not necessarily have to include China, as China's hostile relations with South Korea and the U.S. were already dissolved long ago, while saying China will be involved in the signing of a peace treaty later because the armistice was signed by the United Nations, China and North Korea.
Considering the declaration of the end of the war will be the beginning of future talks over establishing peace, the inter-Korean agreement and Cheong Wa Dae officials' remarks apparently show China has been left out.
Additionally, in the inter-Korean declaration, North Korea did not mention the U.S. forces' continued presence in the South, contrary to predictions that Pyongyang would demand their withdrawal in return for giving up its nuclear weapons.
If North Korea accepts the troops' presence even after a peace treaty is signed, the U.S. influence will be expanded throughout the whole peninsula and China may consider it an economic and security threat.
“If the situation continues, China may lose leverage on the peninsula, while it is possible for the U.S. and the two Koreas to jointly check China,” Mun Il-hyeon, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said in a radio interview. “This would be a nightmare for China, so it is trying to prevent such a situation from developing.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pyongyang, Wednesday, and talked about the peninsula issues with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho. Analysts say this rare visit shows China's impatience out of concerns of being sidelined.