Tag: China

I don’t think the Yoon administration is going to get any appropriate response back from China because the ambassador likely said exactly what the CCP thinks of Korea:

Lee Jae-myung (L), leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, talks with Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming during their meeting at the envoy’s residence in Seoul on June 8, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

South Korea is waiting for China to take an “appropriate measure” following controversial remarks made by its ambassador in Seoul over South Korea’s ties with the United States, a presidential official said Tuesday.

Tensions have flared between Seoul and Beijing after China’s Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming said in a meeting with main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung that those who “bet on China’s loss” in its rivalry with the United States “will definitely regret it.”

The remarks were interpreted as a warning to Seoul against aligning itself with Washington.

“From our point of view, there was something that ran contrary” to diplomatic protocols, the presidential official told reporters.

“We’re waiting for the Chinese side to carefully consider this problem and to take the appropriate measure regarding this,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is China needlessly raising tensions with South Korea trying to treat them like a vassal state:

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming (L) speaks with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, before their dinner meeting at the envoy’s residence in Seoul on June 8, 2023. (Yonhap)

China called in South Korean Ambassador Chung Jae-ho and lodged a complaint, Beijing’s foreign ministry said Sunday, in a tit-for-tat after the Chinese ambassador to Seoul was summoned over remarks warning Seoul against betting against China.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong met with the South Korean envoy on Saturday and expressed serious concerns and a complaint over what it called an unfair response that South Korea showed about a meeting between Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.

Xing said during Thursday’s meeting with Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, that it is a wrong bet to believe that China will lose in the rivalry with the United States. He also warned that “those betting on China’s defeat will certainly regret it later.”

On Friday, South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin called in Xing and “sternly warned” against the envoy’s “unreasonable and provocative” remarks. Chang also warned Xing’s remarks could be seen as interference of South Korea’s domestic politics.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Russians and Chinese are showing they are unhappy with trilateral security cooperation between the U.S., Japan, and ROK:

Four Chinese and four Russian military planes entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) without notice Tuesday, Seoul’s military said, prompting the South Korean Air Force to send its fighter jets to the scene.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that between 11:52 a.m. and 1:49 p.m., the Chinese and Russian aircraft entered the southern and eastern parts of the KADIZ, respectively, and exited it. They did not violate South Korea’s air space, it added.

“Our military identified the Chinese and Russian planes before their entry into the KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighters to conduct tactical steps in preparation against potential accidental situations,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Chinese nationals have apparently been investing heavily in Korean real estate:

Chinese people account for over 54 percent of homes owned by foreigners in Korea, while Americans account for 24 percent of them, according to the land ministry’s latest data on foreign ownership of land and housing in Korea. 

Data revealed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Wednesday, show foreign nationals own 83,512 homes in Korea as of the end of last year, accounting for 0.4 percent of all residential property in the country.

This is the first time that statistics on homes owned by foreigners have been officially announced by the government. So far, the land ministry had been announcing statistics on a regular basis on foreign land ownership, but not the number of homes in the country owned by foreigners. The disclosure of the data is ascribed to the Yoon administration’s pledge to regulate foreigners’ speculative housing transactions. 

By category, 91 percent of the homes owned by foreigners are in multi-complex housing, such as apartments, while the other 9 percent are single-family detached houses.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this makes me wonder how many of these Chinese owned apartments are actually occupied or are they just sitting empty waiting to appreciate and be sold again?

China continues to economically retaliate against South Korea as trilateral security cooperation between the U.S. and Japan improves:

Person holding a cellphone with logo of Naver on screen [SHUTTERSTOCK]

Korea’s largest portal Naver has been blocked in China at a tricky time when the United States and its allies are presenting a more united front against Beijing and Beijing is pushing back.  

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that it is looking into the case with other government agencies.  

“We are aware of the related reports. [The ministry] is checking the matter jointly with related government agencies,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk on Tuesday.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

If China would quit threatening Taiwan with naval blockades and firing missiles over the country than the U.S. would not need to send personnel to help train them in the first place:

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducts a routine Taiwan Strait transit on April 16, 2023. (U.S. Navy)

China warned against continued U.S.-Taiwan cooperation Wednesday, responding to reports that the U.S. military was sending officers to help train Taiwan’s counterparts and that a delegation of defense contractors would visiting the self-ruled island next week.

“We resolutely oppose the U.S. having any form of official or military contact with China’s Taiwan region,” Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a weekly press briefing in Beijing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see how the South Korean government and Samsung react to this request:

Samsung Electronics’ chip plant in Xi’an, China [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix should not sell chips to China to make up for the shortfall in supply following China’s sanctioning of Micron, the White House has told the Korean government.    
   
The Financial Times reported Sunday that the Joe Biden administration reached out to Seoul to ask for a cap on the chip sales, although neither government confirmed.  
   
If the Yoon Suk Yeol government acts on the request, the push could exacerbate weaknesses at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which have been hit hard as a result of oversupply. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.