On the evening of June 8, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming called on Seoul to readjust its approach to Washington and resume political and trade relations with Beijing.
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| Beijing and Seoul are embroiled in a new dispute over remarks by Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming. (Source: AP) |
Speaking at a meeting with Lee Jae-myung, chairman of South Korea's main opposition party, Ambassador Xing Haiming stressed that Seoul is "betting wrong" in the US-China competition, and called on its Northeast Asian neighbor to restore its network of economic and diplomatic relations with China.
According to the diplomat, in the face of the situation where "the US is putting strong pressure on China, some people are betting that Washington will win and Beijing will lose. This is clearly a wrong assessment and does not grasp the correct course of history."
The Chinese Embassy also issued a statement saying that China-South Korea relations are currently facing many challenges, but it hopes Seoul will uphold its commitments and respect Beijing's core concerns.
In response to the Chinese Ambassador's statement, on June 9, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned Mr. Xing Haiming. Vice Minister Cho Hyun-dong stated that the Chinese diplomat's statement was an act of interference in South Korea's internal affairs.
Despite the new conflict, speaking at a foreign and security policy review conference, South Korean National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong affirmed that the country wants to establish "healthy" relations with China based on Seoul's growing strength and the expectations of its people.
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