SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin will make her first visit to China on Monday as President Yun Suk-yeol’s government tries to reassure Beijing about their relationship despite stronger ties with the United States and tensions over Taiwan. Park is scheduled for a three-day stay in the eastern port city of Qingdao, during which he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Seoul’s foreign ministry said. Park is the first high-level official to travel to China since Yoon took office in May. His trip comes after Beijing expressed anger over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week. China claims the self-governing island as its own. Yun faced criticism from lawmakers — some from within his own governing party — for not meeting with Pelosi. Yoon, who was on vacation, had a phone call with her. His office said the decision was made with national interests in mind and there was no pressure from Beijing. The stakes are high for Park’s visit as Seoul walks a fine line between its alliance with the United States and with China, South Korea’s top trading partner, amid their intensifying rivalry. Park said his trip would be an opportunity to reduce misunderstandings and strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade, health and the environment. “By actively promoting high-level strategic communication, we can have a better understanding of each other, reduce unnecessary misunderstandings and expand common interests,” he said at a press conference. Park noted that when he met Wang at last month’s G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Thailand, he said that strengthening the US alliance and South Korea’s participation in a US-backed Asian economic forum, which the Beijing said it was designed to disconnect the countries from its economy. he had no intention of “neglecting or setting aside” ties with China. The story continues Both sides also face a possible escalation over the US THAAD missile defense system stationed in South Korea, as well as Seoul’s possible participation in a US-led chip alliance that includes Taiwan and Japan, in which China opposes. Yoon promised to buy and deploy another THAAD battery and abandon his predecessor’s 2017 pledge to China for the so-called “Three Nos” – no additional THAAD deployments, no participation in a US-led global missile shield and no creation of a tripartite military alliance with the participation of Japan. China maintains that the system’s powerful radar could peer into its airspace, and relations have suffered a setback after China sharply reduced trade and cultural imports. Beijing’s foreign ministry is asking Seoul to keep the promise, but Park said in a recent parliamentary question that the “Three Nos” are not a formal promise or agreement. Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that South Korea had decided to participate in a preliminary meeting on the chip pact, called “Chip 4,” citing an unnamed senior presidential official. Yun said his government was considering the matter in light of national interests, and the foreign ministry said no decision had been made. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
