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South Korea Relations with China
Nordpolitik has been viewed as less attractive in Beijing
than in Moscow. Beijing's needs for Seoul in the 1980s were
hardly matched with those of Moscow, particularly in economic
terms. Still, because of complementary economic needs and
geographic proximity, South Korea and China began to trade
actively. The absence of any official relations, however, made it
difficult to expand trade between Seoul and Beijing, because
South Korea could not legally protect its citizens and business
interests in China.
Beijing, in comparison with Moscow, has been politically
closer to P'yongyang, which has slowed political improvements
between Beijing and Seoul despite the increasing volume of trade
between the two countries. Furthermore, China has attempted to
mediate between North Korea and the United States and North Korea
and Japan and also initiated and promoted tripartite talks--among
P'yongyang, Seoul, and Washington.
Active South Korean-Chinese people-to-people contacts have
been encouraged. Academics, journalists, and particularly
families divided between South Korea and China were able to
exchange visits freely in the late 1980s. Nearly 2 million ethnic
Koreans, especially in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
in China's Jilin Province, have interacted with South Koreans.
It has been difficult to determine what effect the political
turmoil in China would have on Sino-Korean relations. After the
military crackdown on demonstrators in Beijing in June 1989,
P'yongyang predictably came out in support of Beijing's
repressive actions. Seoul, on the other hand, produced a more
muted response, which did not condone the actions in Tiananmen
Square, but did not condemn them either. Trade between the two
countries continued to increase.
Data as of June 1990
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