By Yi Whan-woo
President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to restore relations between Seoul and Beijing in all sectors.
They reached the agreement during a summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Danang, Vietnam, Saturday.
Their bilateral talks came after the governments of South Korea and China struck an agreement on Oct. 31 to end the diplomatic row over a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery deployed in South Korea.
Moon accepted Xi’s invitation to visit China next month, while Xi said he will “make efforts” to come to the Winter Olympics, slated for Feb. 9 to 25, 2018, in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province.
The two leaders also agreed to bolster efforts to resolve the North Korea nuclear crisis, something Xi had refused to discuss with Moon over the past few months.
“I’m so glad that the two countries have agreed to restore exchanges and cooperation in every field through diplomatic consultation, and put their relationship on a normal track,” Moon said. “We had hardship in our relations, but now is the time for us to reconfirm how South Korea and China are precious to each other. I hope the two sides will work together to recover the time we lost.”
Citing a Korean proverb, “After the rain, the ground is stiff,” and also a Chinese idiom with a similar connotation, Moon said he is confident about the positive impact to be brought about by his summit with Xi.
“My meeting with President Xi will be a signal to resume cooperation in politics, the economy, culture, human resources and other fields,” he said.
Moon’s remarks came in response to Xi’s opening speech, in which the latter expressed hope that their summit will be a “significant turnaround for the two sides to cooperate on bilateral development and issues on the Korean Peninsula.”
“Both China and South Korea have common interests in a wide range of areas on world peace, the development of economies and societies among others,” he said
Xi stressed mutual respect, communication and cooperation on the key national interests of the two sides, saying, “China-South Korea relations and the situation on the peninsula are at a critical point.”
The two leaders agreed to discuss “future-oriented relations” in December when Moon visits Beijing for another summit.
When asked by Moon to visit South Korea on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Xi said he will try to come and also promised to send a high-level delegation if he cannot do so.
THAAD was initially not included on the agenda to be discussed between the two leaders.
Xi still called on South Korea to “act with a responsible attitude,” although he referred to the Seoul-Beijing agreement on the THAAD dispute as “a new beginning and a good start.”
Moon reiterated South Korea’s stance that THAAD does not target China and is only aimed at deterring North Korea’s ballistic missile attacks.
A Cheong Wa Da official said Xi’s remarks on THAAD were a mere reiteration of “China’s long-held view” that was also included in the joint agreement announced Oct. 31.
Meanwhile, Moon congratulated Xi for “successfully” holding the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October, and beginning his second 10-year term.
Xi thanked Moon for sending the congratulatory message.
The summit was scheduled to last 30 minutes but took an additional 20 minutes.
“It shows that the meeting took place in an amicable and friendly atmosphere,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
Moon also wore a red tie, a gesture seen as a courtesy for Xi considering red is popular in China.
The political parties in Seoul showed a mixed view on the summit.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea spokeswoman Back Hye-ryun said the summit “laid a ground stone for the joint prosperity of the two nations.”
The second-largest opposition People’s Party said it welcomes the restoration of the Seoul-Beijing relationship. However, the party added, “It’s regretful that the summit did not produce any tangible results over ways to resolve North Korea’s nuclear threats.”
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) criticized the summit as “all show and no substance.”
“There is nothing noteworthy about the summit other than an agreement for Moon to visit China next month,” LKP spokesman Khang Hyo-shang said. “The government was busy restoring ties with China superficially and it did not actually get anything.”
This was Moon’s second summit with Xi. The previous one took place in July on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany.
Back then, the two leaders only reaffirmed their differences over the THAAD deployment, which led to Beijing’s economic retaliation against Seoul.