| South Korea's China policy plays an essential role in its diplomatic layout,especially in recent years when Sino-ROK relations have become increasingly significant in South Korea's foreign relations.However,fluctuations have occurred in China-ROK relations during the last ten years,which shows that despite common interests between the two countries,there are also damaging conflicts in its bilateral relations.In the context of the current global trend of trade protectionism and isolationism,it is of great importance to maintain regional stability,develop regional economic integration,and promote sustainable development and lasting prosperity of the two countries for a healthy China-ROK relationship.Therefore,it is valuable to review South Korea's policy towards China over the past decade,understand the internal and external background,clarify its policy objectives and available resources and analyze its decision-making process and the influencing factors in the course of its policy evolution so as to predict the future direction of its China policy and achieve effective interaction between the two countries.Due to the tribute system in history,“serving great powers and protecting small countries” has been a two-way guiding principle in the bilateral relations between South Korea and China.However,this policy has been added with negative connotations in recent years,being criticized as the main reason for the fall of Korean Dynasty and giving rise to an “anti-flunkeyism” against China.With the end of WWII,the Cold War and the Korean War afterwards,this “anti-flunkeyism” trend against China has become ever stronger than before,and a new “US-flunkeyism” was developed.Meanwhile,the political forces in South Korea were gradually divided into conservative camps and progressive camps.Ever since the 1980 s,the two camps have become the major political forces in South Korea and they took power alternately.Conservative camps and progressive camps are different in their policies toward China.The former is obviously suspicious and distrustful of China,and relies more on the US-ROK alliance,while the latter emphasizes the autonomy of the nation and the state,tries to maintain a balance between the big powers,but is also concerned about South Korea's economic dependence on China and China's influence on North Korea.The country's increasing economic reliance on China,the sever competition between China and the US,and tensions on the Korean Peninsula,have become main external factors to influence South Korea's China policy.After ten years' of development,the main objectives of South Korea's China policy became clear in 2008 when Lee Myung-bak was in power.First,South Korea intends to keep a relatively balanced regional pattern.In the context of growing competition and cooperation between China and the US,South Korea will try to cooperate with one in order to restrain the power of the other,especially seeking for the help of the US by means of US-Korean Alliance to prevent for the uncertainties brought about by the rise of China.Secondly,South Korea will strive for China's support in Korean Peninsula affairs in order to mitigate the situation in the region,solve North Korean nuclear issues and speed up the process of national reunification,but it will also guard against China's growing influence and prevent China from “dominating” the Korean Peninsula as it did in history.Finally,South Korea will actively promote its economic cooperation with China in order to maintain a sustained development and prosperity,while consciously guarding against its over-dependence on China's economy.A successful realization of the above goals lies in the backup of US-ROK Alliance,the growth of South Korea's national power,and the influence of its cultural diplomacy.US-ROK Alliance enables the country to seek US support in its resistance against the rise of China.The growth of the country's national power,on the other hand,will provide a solid foundation for its economic cooperation with China,and the export of “Korean culture” will help smooth over the tension between the two countries.By reviewing the changes of South Korea's China policy that three governments took from 2008 to 2018,this study finds that the country's China policy has always aimed at promoting its economic cooperation with China and improving the mutual trust between the two countries.Both conservative and progressive camps have been striving for better economic cooperation with China.However,two serous political issues,namely,Lee Myung-bak's “Cheonan Disaster” and Park Geun-hye's “THAAD Deployment”,demonstrate that South Korea's China policy is heavily influenced by nuclear issues and US-ROK Alliance.This situation will be long-standing and difficult for the government to get out of.Even Moon Jae-in and his administration,who advocate an “independent national defense” policy,find it difficult to abolish “Thaad deployment”.South Korea's reliance on the US-ROK Alliance decreases only by degree and the government has failed to change its national security structure.But a relaxation in Moon Jae-in's policy towards North Korea has reduced the risks of nuclear influence on its relations with China.Besides,this study finds that “balance” and “precaution” have always been two key words in South Korea's China policy.With the rise of China,South Korea is having less room for maneuver in its China policy,and its attempt to restrain the power of China will go through difficult times.By evaluating South Korea's China policy,the study finds first that the President and his administration play the most important role in its foreign policy making process,which is partly due to the supreme power endowed with the President in the country's political system.Meanwhile,the policy-making is also affected by the Congress,especially through the competition of political parties and approval of congress bills.In times of a minority government,the opposition parties exert an even greater influence on the government's foreign policy.Furthermore,military leaders,though neutral in surface,have always been conservative.They resort to military families,veteran groups and high officials with military background to express their appeals,thus influencing the government's foreign policy.Secondly,South Korea's economic policy towards China is the most successful in terms of its implementation.Sino-ROK trade is the primary source of South Korea's trade surplus,with China providing a big market,numerous job offers and many investment sites.However,security issues have become the bottleneck in South Korea's China policy.South Korea continues to rely heavily on US in its security matters,bringing risks to jeopardize the balance that the country has endeavored to maintain between China and the US.It means that China will never reach a complete agreement with South Korea in Korean Peninsula affairs,resulting in gains and loss for both countries.The root cause for this situation lies in the increasingly narrowed space for South Korea to maneuver between China and the US,the dilemma between seeking for China's support and guarding against China power,and a mindset to both “take advantage ” and “avoid risks” in the face of the rise of China.Looking into the future,it is estimated that US-ROK Alliance will continue to exert a destructive influence in South Korea's China policy,making the country's political and security cooperation with China less achieved than the Sino-ROK economic collaborations.North-South Korean tensions and China's ties with North Korea determine that North Korea(nuclear)issues will be a long-term influencing factor in South Korea's China policy.Besides,internal factors like party politics,election needs as well as the President's personality and external factors,such as South Korea's heavy economic reliance on China,all contribute to the changes in the governments' China policy.Therefore,in the foreseeable future,South Korea's China policy will continue to seek support from China on the one hand,and guard against the rise of China on the other.In spite of the increasing economic competition between the two countries,cooperation will outweigh competition to be the main theme in South Korea's economic ties with China.In terms of national security,US-ROK Alliance will continue to influence the country's China policy,providing limited space for Sino-ROK cooperation.Meanwhile,South Korea's China policy will bring inspirations for the Chinese government to make its South Korea policy.China should be aware of the conflicting interests between the two countries and promote cooperation and development with a more practical attitude.The Chinese government need to follow the political development in South Korea more closely,understand the interest demands of different social groups,and enlarge its scope of communication and cooperation with South Korea to establish a more friendly policy-making atmosphere.With varied policies and management,China should strive to create new fields for cooperation and develop more mutual interest,so as to lay a solid foundation for long-term development in China-ROK relationship. |
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