Moon's distress deepens over 'China dilemma'

President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping look at a go board which Xi offered Moon as a present during their 2017 summit in Beijing. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

By Do Je-hae

The spread of the new coronavirus from Hubei Province, China, is posing a possible hindrance to bilateral relations between Seoul and Beijing.

Cheong Wa Dae is facing a dilemma as it struggles to improve relations with China, particularly important with Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Seoul, while facing challenges at home amid the epidemic. The Korean government is facing growing calls from people here to expand the entry ban of foreign nationals traveling from Hubei Province to other parts of China to prevent further spread of the virus ― about which the Chinese government has already indirectly expressed discontent.

On Sunday the government announced the entry ban, but a growing number of Koreans believe there should be stronger immigration controls to better contain the situation. Opposition parties and even some members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea are urging an expanded entry ban for people traveling from other regions in China, such as Guangdong, or even the entire country.

But the presidential office fears that additional travel restrictions could sour relations with Beijing. The Chinese government has not directly shown any response to the Korean government's entry ban, but hinted at its discontent through a Tuesday press conference by new Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, who said such measures go against the science-based advice of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Regarding Xing's remarks, a presidential aide only said, “We believe that the Chinese ambassador's remarks were intended to stress the need for close bilateral cooperation on this issue.”

If the epidemic becomes graver in China, President Moon will be under pressure from the public for an entry ban expansion. However, if expanded, it will affect bilateral ties and one of the biggest diplomatic events of the Moon presidency ― Xi's visit to Seoul in the coming months. If realized, it would be the first time for Xi to visit Korea since his meeting with then-President Park Geun-hye in July 2014.

The Moon-Xi summit has been expected to bring a breakthrough in relations that stalled following Korea's 2017 deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) U.S. missile defense system. The recent thawing of tensions had raised hopes of a full recovery to the damaged trade and tourism sector.

It has been widely expected that Xi would visit Korea around the time of his planned visit to Japan in April, but Seoul has been pushing for the visit to take place in March, to lift the waning public support for President Moon's brand of diplomacy, particularly ahead of the April 15 general election.

The presidential office has repeatedly stressed that the virus epidemic and the summit are separate issues, but the latest news reports suggest that this may not be the case. Some media outlets said that as Xi is preoccupied with the domestic situation, his visit to Korea may be delayed to as late as June.

Cheong Wa Dae refuted reports on the possible delay. “We regret the use of the expression 'delay' when the date has not been settled yet,” presidential deputy spokesperson Han Jung-woo told reporters, Tuesday. “Late last year, we made it official that the visit will surely happen in the early half of the year. We have not specified the timing, which is still under consultation between the governments of the two countries. We will jointly announce the date in due course.”

Days before Moon and Xi met in Beijing on Dec. 23, 2019, Xi had sent his State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Seoul. Wang's rare visit to Seoul was seen as a sign that the two countries had begun consultations on arranging the highly-anticipated summit, which would reciprocate Moon's state visit to China in December 2017.