Li Zhanshu, center, is the No. 3 official in the Chinese government. Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Prime Minister Li Keqiang, right, are also seen in this photo. Korea Times file

Yoon in dilemma over meeting China's No. 3 official after snubbing Pelosi

By Kang Seung-woo

An envisaged trip by China's top legislator to Seoul is reigniting the issue of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit here.

According to political and diplomatic circles, Li Zhanshu, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), is now arranging his three-day visit to Korea, set to begin Sept. 15, at the invitation of National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo.

In February, Li invited Rep. Park Byeong-seug, Kim's predecessor, to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Along with meeting his Korean counterpart, Li is highly anticipated to pay a visit to President Yoon Suk-yeol, raising speculation that the two sides might discuss Xi's possible visit to Seoul.

"It is likely that Li may discuss Xi's possible visit to Korea if he meets with President Yoon," said Chung Jae-hung, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute.

Since he took office in May, Yoon has often expressed hopes to hold a face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart to discuss ways to advance further the bilateral relations that marked three decades of diplomatic ties. Xi also sent Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan to Yoon's inauguration ceremony and conveyed an invitation for Yoon to visit China at a mutually convenient time. Xi last visited South Korea in 2014.

Former President Moon Jae-in, Yoon's predecessor, had two summits with Xi, both of which took place in China, so the Yoon administration wants to hold a summit with China here, based on the principle of reciprocity.

The Li visit also comes as bilateral ties between Seoul and Beijing have stalled due to several thorny issues.

Since Yoon's inauguration in May, the new Korean administration has been leaning toward the United States amid the intensifying U.S-China rivalry, as evidenced by Seoul's plan to normalize the full operation of the THAAD base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and participate in the Washington-led chip alliance, both of which are drawing a negative reaction from China.

"It is not easy to say that Xi may come here soon because there are pending bilateral issues between Korea and China that might not be swiftly resolved during Li's visit here," Chung said.

"I think that a one-on-one summit is not likely to take place this year," he said.

Chung added that the issues between Korea and China were also intertwined with the U.S., making Xi's visit here less feasible because Seoul cannot make a decision on them independently, while Washington is still engaged in competing with Beijing.

In addition, the current situation surrounding China is also unfavorable for Xi to make a visit to Korea as the Chinese government is in the midst of fighting a resurgence of COVID-19 and more importantly, Xi is expected to push for an unprecedented third term in power at the National Congress of its ruling Communist Party in October.

Unless Seoul and Beijing hold a formal summit soon, Indonesia or Thailand is likely to become the venue for the first Yoon-Xi meeting in November, as Bali and Bangkok are scheduled to host the G20 summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, respectively.

Separately, the visit of Li, the No. 3 official in the Chinese government after Xi and Prime Minister Li Keqiang, has also put the Yoon administration in a dilemma over whether the president should meet him at all.

Last month, when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the third-highest ranking U.S. official after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, came here, Yoon did not meet with her, saying that he was on vacation, raising speculations that Yoon had opted not to meet Pelosi due to not wanting to provoke China. At that time, the American politician's Asia trip was widely regarded as urging its Asian allies to respond to the U.S.-led campaign against China's authoritarianism and to support democracy.

"The Yoon-Li meeting could be politicized because of the absence of a meeting between Yoon and Pelosi. In that respect, the Yoon administration should talk with the U.S. about the president seeing the Chinese official so as to pre-empt misunderstandings from Washington," Chung said.

"Otherwise, it may evolve into another controversy."