ED Sinophobia hinders Seoul-Beijing ties

President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their summit at Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Saturday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung expressed hope that South Korea and China will work together to get their bilateral relations back on track following his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Saturday. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation event in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

“There have been ups and downs in Seoul-Beijing relations. Despite this, our friendship and the history we have built together remain unchanged,” Lee wrote on social media Sunday, a day after his meeting with Xi. Lee added that he hopes to visit China soon to continue efforts to bring the two countries closer.

It is a positive sign that the leaders of South Korea and China finally met face-to-face — albeit briefly — after years without dialogue at the highest level.

The Lee-Xi summit reflects the current state of Seoul-Beijing relations. The absence of a joint statement after the meeting underscores the remaining gaps between the two sides. It will take time for the two countries narrow their differences, and improving bilateral ties will not be easy.

South Korea’s strategic location near both China and North Korea makes it a crucial partner that both the United States and China seek to keep close. Yet, this position has increasingly become a liability for the South rather than an asset.

Officials here have long likened the country to “a shrimp caught between whales” — mainly the U.S. and China. Both nations are indispensable to South Korea. The U.S. remains its closest ally and security guarantor, having fought alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War to defend freedom and democracy from communist North Korea.

Keeping China close is equally vital, as South Korea’s export-driven economy depends heavily on stable trade with China. However, as the U.S.-China rivalry intensifies, Seoul has faced growing pressure to choose between Washington and Beijing, both politically and economically.

Adding to these external challenges, rising sinophobia among South Koreans has become a new obstacle to improving bilateral ties.

According to a Kstat Research-MBC poll released in October, 7 out of 10 South Koreans held negative views of China. Among respondents, 23 percent cited Chinese citizens’ “poor civic awareness” as the reason for their negative perception. Others pointed to differences in political systems (15 percent), China’s close relationship with North Korea (14 percent) and its perceived interference in South Korean politics (14 percent).

By contrast, 56 percent of respondents said they viewed the United States positively. The poll, conducted among 2,014 adults between Oct. 14 and 17, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.18 percentage points. Full results are available on the National Election Commission’s website.

Sinophobia has fueled a wave of anti-China rallies in Seoul this year. Beijing appears to be fully aware of the potential dangers posed by rising anti-China sentiment in South Korea, as reflected in Xi’s “four-point proposal” presented during his summit with Lee to improve bilateral relations.

Xi’s proposal called for strengthening strategic dialogue, deepening cooperation based on mutual interests, enhancing people-to-people exchanges to improve national sentiment and promoting peace through multilateralism.

Unlike in communist states, where manipulation of public opinion has often been used as a political tool, in a democratic country like South Korea, the government has limited means to influence how citizens think or feel. Public opinion in South Korea reflects the collective sentiment of its people, who are free to express their views openly.

Lee has attempted to calm the rising sinophobia, including the regular anti-China protests held in front of the Chinese Embassy in central Seoul's Myeong-dong tourist district. He criticized the demonstrators, arguing that their actions went beyond the bounds of free expression and were “akin to ranting.” He even accused the protesters of hate speech, urging them to stop.

Yet Lee has remained silent about anti-U.S. protests staged in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

The Lee administration’s decision to adopt a visa waiver program for Chinese tour groups further generated controversy about China. Despite Lee’s efforts to prevent bilateral relations from deteriorating, his actions have often produced the opposite effect.

Now is the time for China to respond to the rising wave of sinophobia in South Korea. Beijing bears its share of the responsibility for the Korean public’s growing distrust and should take practical and sincere measures to win back their confidence.