A Study Of The American Factor In The Park Geun-hye Administration's China Policy

The relationship between South Korea and China is an important bilateral relationship in Northeast Asia.To maintain the China-South Korea's relationship is of strategic significance for promoting the development of the two countries and safeguarding regional security.South Korea's China policy is an important variable,affecting the relationship between South Korea and China.Therefore,South Korea's China policy is not only an important part of its foreign policy,but also has a far-reaching influence on China-South Korea's bilateral relations and peace and stability in Northeast Asia.After the end of the Cold War,South Korea gradually transformed its foreign policy and began to develop friendly relations with China.Affected by historical factors and diplomatic strategies,South Korea's domestic political forces are gradually divided into two camps with contrasting attitudes towards China: progressive and conservative.During the 20 years from 1992 to2012,due to its economic dependence on China and the need to cooperate with China in maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia,South Korea took the goal of maintaining China-South Korea's relations as its policy toward China,and took friendly and moderate attitude toward China as its keynote.Thanks to the joint efforts of China and South Korea,bilateral cooperation has been gradually moving towards a deeper level.Bilateral relations have been upgraded from "good-neighborly and cooperative relationship" to "cooperative partnership" and "comprehensive cooperative partnership",and have been established as "strategic cooperative partnership" under the Lee Myung-bak administration.However,in 2008,after the Obama administration took office,the stability and development of China-South Korea's relations were impacted by the Korean nuclear issue and the U.S.'s Asia-Pacific Rebalancing Strategy.After taking office,the Park Geun-hye government made great efforts to coordinate the strategic between China and the United States in order to expand South Korea's own interests.The Park Geun-hye administration has placed its hopes on China for the Korean nuclear issue,and has carried out trust diplomacy with China to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.China-South Korea's relations reached a climax when the Park Geun-hye government attended the commemoration of the 70 th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.Later,with the tense situation on the Korean peninsula,and complex environment at home and abroad,such as the government party re-elected defeat.Regardless of China,Russia,as well as the international community's against,South Korea united with the United States deployed THAAD missile system in South Korea,causing damage to the operation of China-South Korea's relations,and policy toward China failed completely.The ups and downs of Park Geun-hye's policy towards China are the result of the comprehensive influence of many factors,such as the international situation,domestic political development and leaders' cognition.Among them,the United States factor occupies the primary position.During the administration of President Park Geun-hye,the United States,in order to maintain the balance of power,relied on the alliance of the United States and the South Korea as the strategic base.By dissuading the South Korea from joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB),strengthening the alliance of the United States and the deployment of the THAAD missile system,the United States adversely restricted the policy of the Park Geun-hye administration toward China and tied the alliance with its global strategic goals.As a result of the THAAD incident,the strategic partnership between China and South Korea has weakened,the foundation of political mutual trust between the two countries has been severely damaged,and cooperation in various fields has hit,casting a shadow over the future development of the relationship between South Korea.In general,the influence of American factors on the South Korean government's China policy is consistent and persistent.Because of its alliance with South Korea,the United States has always been a priority variable in South Korea's foreign policy.This trend has been particularly pronounced since 2008.Since China's comprehensive strength and economic advantages were not fully highlighted before 2008,China's status and influence in the international community were limited.As a result,the United States had less interference in South Korea's China policy and China-South Korea's relations before 2008.Since the Lee Myung-bak administration,the American factor has been significantly fermenting and has continued to influence South Korea's policy toward China.Park Geun-hye's administration has typical characteristics.By reviewing South Korea's China policy from 1992 to 2012,this paper systematically analyzes the evolution process of South Korea's China policy.Literature analysis is used to provide material support for this paper,comparative study is used to provide ideas and methods for views,and case analysis is used to provide strong arguments for the discussion.Taking Park Geun-hye's administration as an example,this paper focuses on the purpose and influence points of American factors in South Korea's China policy,and analyzes the changes and trends of American factors in South Korea's China policy,so as to provide reference for China to accurately understand the essence of Park Geun-hye's China policy.In addition,this study is conducive to the understanding of the rules and characteristics of its China policy,and thus provides a policy reference for the formulation of effective policies toward South Korea and neighboring diplomatic strategies.