President Park Geun-hye is being welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife when she visited Beijing Sept. 3 to attend China's 70th anniversary of the end of World War II which included a military parade by the Chinese Liberation Army exhibiting some of its advanced weaponry such as ICBMs and armored vehicles.(Photos:Cheong Wa Dae)

President Park Geun-hye attended the Chinese military’s parade in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing on Sept. 3. President Park became the first Korean chief executive to watch the Chinese Liberation Army’s parade alongside a Chinese president when she attended with Xi Jinping on the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Tiananmen Square.

President Park’s participation in the event may be construed as a pragmatic diplomatic move in consideration of economic and geopolitical relationships. In reality, it capped relations between South Korea and China, which is an archrival of the United States for global dominance. To South Korea, China is not only Korea’s biggest trading partner — depending on China for one-fourth of Korea’s total trade — but also the sole country to yield influence over North Korea, China’s traditional ally. Explaining the background of President Park’s latest trip, a government official stressed the need for China’s cooperation toward “peace on the Korean Peninsula, prosperity, and furthermore unification.”

President Park watched the parade in the second seat to the right from Chinese President Xi, next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is historic irony since it was the same site in which former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung observed parades beside former Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1954 and 1959. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the parade, but instead dispatched Choi Ryong-hae, a ranking member of the North Korean Communist Party.

In addition to President Park and Russian President Putin, 30-odd heads of state, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, were present at the parade. But leaders of U.S. and other advanced Western countries skipped the event. 

President Park’s attendance in the parade put South Korean-Chinese relations at their highest-ever levels, but some people say President Park also faces tasks of strengthening the Korean-U.S. alliance and improving ties with Japan. Park Byung-gwang, head of the Northeast Asia Study Office at the Institute for National Security Strategy said, “President Park concurred on the holding of a trilateral summit among Korea, China and Japan, during her Aug. 2 talks with Chinese President Xi, and President Park is to hold talks with the U.S. president, who is also scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi in Washington soon.” He added that President Park’s attending of the parade should lead to a virtuous cycle of bolstered relations in the Northeast Asian situation. 

Xi, in a speech at the ceremony, said China would remain committed to peaceful development and pledged to cut the 2.3 million-member army’s size by 300,000 troops. But The ceremony highlighted a parade of high-tech weaponries, including inter-continental ballistic missiles, ZTZ-96A main battle tanks, HJ-12 antitank missiles and H-6K mid-range strategic bombers, 11,000 goose-stepping solders and fighters jets, showing off China’s rising power as a G2 nation to the outside world. 

President Park’s Summit with Chinese President Xi

On day earlier, President Park and Chinese President Xi jointly called for the resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks to address North Korean nuclear issues during their talks at the Great Hall of the People on Sept. 2.

They stressed the importance of faithful implementation of the Sept. 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks and the United Nations Security Council resolutions. In this regard, they expressed opposition to any act further escalating tensions. 

As on previous occasions, the two sides reaffirmed their unwavering adherence to the goal of denuclearization. Highlighting the breakthrough in the Iran nuclear talks, they called for the resumption of meaningful dialogue through the Six-party Talks at an early date. 

The two leaders noted that the recent escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula had been eased by means of inter-Korean consultations. They went on to express the hope that the trust-building Process on the Korean Peninsula would be accelerated with the agreement reached this time being translated into concrete action. In this connection, the two sides concurred on the need to step up communications and consultation as strategic, cooperative partners in addressing regional and international issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The two Presidents shared a recognition of the fact that the relationship between the two countries was advancing at an unprecedented pace. This is evidenced by the enhanced strategic communication through the launch of four key strategic dialogue channels; the establishment of an institutional foundation for economic cooperation, including the signing of a Korea-China FTA on June 1, 2015; and the number of people-to-people exchanges reaching 10 million in 2014. In addition, there have been six summits on the occasions of bilateral and multilateral meetings over the past two and half years following the inauguration of new administrations in both countries and eight rounds of foreign ministers’ meetings.

The two sides also agreed to work closely together and share experiences for the successful hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Presidents Park and Xi saw eye to eye on the necessity of further expanding and developing the Korea-China joint project to strengthen bonds in the humanities to deepen mutual understanding and exchanges between the two peoples. The project has been carried out since 2014 according to an agreement between the two heads of state. In addition, they agreed to make concerted efforts to venture into third-country markets by jointly creating cultural content.

The two sides also had in-depth discussions on the issue of unification. The Korean side stressed that with the Korean Peninsula in the seventh decade of division, peaceful reunification was a pressing aim, the realization of which would also contribute to promoting peace and prosperity in the region. The Chinese side said that it supported the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula by the Korean people. 

The two sides also agreed that the Korea-China-Japan trilateral cooperation framework had an important function in advancing peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia and should therefore be maintained and further developed. They agreed to hold a trilateral summit in Korea at a mutually convenient date sometime at the end of October or the beginning of November. On the same topic, President Xi thanked President Park for all of her active efforts as chair of the trilateral summit to regularize cooperation between the three countries. 

President Xi also reaffirmed the Chinese government’s support for the Korean government’s Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative. The two sides affirmed their commitment to the shared goals of strengthening regional trust and cooperation and agreed that the Northeast Asian Peace and Cooperation Initiative, as an important and useful framework to this end, should be carried out through concrete measures. They agreed to hold a second Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Forum and seek cooperative measures in such diverse sectors as nuclear safety, disaster management, energy security, and public health. 

President Meets with Chinese Premier

President Park and Premier Li and agreed that bilateral relations were evolving to the extent that there have been strategic communications not only on the economy but also on politics and security. They noted in particular that such relations were steadily advancing in a wide range of areas, including through frequent high-level exchanges, the signing of the Korea-China FTA and the implementation of the Korea-China joint project to strengthen bonds in the humanities. They were of the same opinion that the two countries should promote new developments in their relations by accelerating current trends.

President Park stressed the importance of joint efforts to help stabilize the situation in Northeast Asia, which is currently in flux. From that perspective, she said she looked forward to hosting a Korea-Japan-China summit in Seoul at a mutually convenient time in late October or early November this year.

On the issue of North Korea, President Park explained that she had made her position clear on several occasions that the South would be vigorous in working together with the international community to help the North as long as it takes steps toward abandoning its nuclear weapons. She went on to say that the establishment of a Northeast Asian Development Bank was proposed as part of tangible efforts to achieve this goal. In this regard, she expressed the hope that China and the other countries in the Six Party Talks would continue to cooperate together.

In response, Premier Li commended President Park’s efforts with regard to the trilateral summit and said he valued her input regarding the situation in Northeast Asia and the new development bank and would take her suggestions into consideration in the days ahead. 

President Park said that both Korea and China needed to make especially active efforts to continue expanding trade and investment. She stressed in particular the need for a variety of measures to maximize the effects of the Korea-China FTA, including lowering tariffs, eliminating non-tariff barriers and expanding exchanges between private companies. Premier Li, describing the Korea-China FTA as a major outcome in bilateral trade relations, expressed agreement on the need for enhanced efforts to maximize the FTA’s effects and said that China would make serious efforts to this end.