[INTERVIEW] Future of Sino-Korean relations, exchange of local government

Park Byung-eun

By Hwang Jae-ho

Korea and China are geographically and culturally similar, but as they have different historical experiences in the process of industrialization and modernization, there are several differences.

Nevertheless, for the peace and prosperity of the entire Northeast Asia as a neighboring country, both must establish a solid cooperative relationship. To achieve genuine mutual understanding and cooperation, I believe that the most important thing is to build a bridge of understanding and consideration between the peoples of the two countries.

While there are several exchanges at central government level, it is now difficult to regard China as just a "whole" because China is extremely large, with a massive population. As the importance of private and public diplomacy is growing, exchanges between the two countries' local governments are gradually expanding and becoming more significant.

In response, Park Byung-eun, a councilor at the Embassy of ROK in China, as well as the head of the Chinese office of the Governors Association of Korea, examined the current status and possibility of local exchanges between South Korea and China.

1. What exactly does the association work on?

The Governors Association of Korea was established on January 23, 1999, as a consultative body consisting of heads of 17 metropolitan and provincial governments nationwide. It aims to contribute to balanced development of local communities and sound development of local autonomy by promoting exchanges and cooperation between cities and provinces and supporting joint consultation and internationalization of local governments.

In particular, as in exchange and cooperation with China, we are holding an annual Korea-China Local Government Exchange Conference, Korea-China-Japan Local Government Exchange Conference and Korea Heart to Heart (K2H) local government training projects. The Korea-China Local Government Exchange Conference is celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, since starting in 2002, and the Korea-China-Japan Local Government Exchange Conference is a meaningful meeting that has history and tradition since 1999, so meets its 21anniversary already.

In addition, we have held the Korea-China Governor Conference since 2016 every other year to maintain a strong friendship between the leaders of the two local governments.

2. How long is the history of Korea-China Local Government Exchange Conference?

The Korea-China Local Government Exchange Conference has been held annually since 2002. It is hosted by the Governors Association of Korea, the Embassy of ROK in China, Chinese local governments, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The first meeting was held in May 2002 in the Guangxi Zhuangzhu autonomous district with 24 participants (nine Koreans, 15 Chinese). From 2003 to this year, the conference was held in several other regions, and this year it was held in Guizhou Province in August with 227 people (82 Korean, 145 Chinese) participating.

3. What were the past achievements and difficulties of the Korea-China local exchange?

Since Korea-China diplomatic relations were signed in 1992, the number of friendships and sisterhoods between the local governments has reached 645 cases, which is 39 percent of the total friendship agreements the Korean local governments have around the world.

In addition, more than 90 percent of the Korean local governments have engaged in exchange projects in various fields with Chinese local governments by signing friendship or sisterhood exchanges. The exchange between local governments has been carried out in various areas, considering the characteristics of the region, including administrative, youth, cultural, and market reforms.

The greatest achievement of the exchanges between Korea and China is that they have deepened the understanding of each other and promoted development through mutual solidarity and cooperation. It is true that local government exchanges have the advantage of unshakable continuity, even if there are conflicts between the central governments. However, in the event of conflict between the two countries, such as THAAD, the exchanges were also definitely affected.

4. What is the difference between Korea and China in terms of local governments?

There are two main differences. The first is that in the case of Korean local governments, each local autonomous government can pursue international exchanges independently, while in the case of China, the autonomy or independence of local governments is a bit lower than ours. For example, if an international conference such as the Korea-China Local Government Exchange Conference is held, it must be approved by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and if the local government of China desire a sister city with a foreign local government, it must also obtain approval from the central government and higher-level local governments in advance.

The second is continuity of international exchange work. In the case of Chinese local government, the government employees in charge of international exchanges are responsible for the work continuously in order to enhance the professionalism. In other words, if there are no special circumstances, the staff of foreign affairs will work in foreign affairs for the rest of their lives. However, since Korean local government is operating under a rotational position system, the length of time that our local government employees are in charge of international exchange work lasts for only two years.

5. Would you recall a memorable episode?

Various exchange projects are being carried out between two countries' local governments. Among them, the most memorable business is human exchange. Under the auspices of the association, we have been promoting the Korea Heart to Heart (K2H) program since 1997, which is to invite local government officials from overseas and train them for six months in Korea.

From 1997 to 2019, 866 people from 30 countries participated and 583 of them were from Chinese local governments. In June 2017, we held the "K2H Human Resources Forum" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the K2H program. At that time, a Chinese local government official who participated in the first K2H program in 1997 presented his experiences with the K2H program, as well as how it has influenced his current working career. His remark was not just a shared experience of Korea-China exchanges, but a vivid record of how the exchange actually grew and developed.

6. Is there any particular direction or business the association is aiming for?

The project that I would like to focus more on in the future is to promote local people's awareness of the need for international exchange by dealing with realistic and current issues. For example, the growing problem of international marine waste along the Korean west coast is an issue that both Korean and Chinese local governments are facing jointly. In order to solve these problems, we are required to build a network of heads of local governments on the west coast, so that they can act in a practical way and create a forum for relevant discussions and implementation.

Hwang Jae-ho is director of the Global Security Cooperation Center, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul. Ko Sung-hwah, a researcher at the center, assisted Professor Hwang with the article.