China–South Korea relations
In recent years, China and South Korea have endeavored to boost their strategic and cooperative partnership in numerous sectors, as well as promoting a high level relationship.[9] Relations deteriorated considerably after South Korea announced its intentions to deploy THAAD, a move that China strongly opposed.[11][12][13][14] Upon the relationship's resumption, China and South Korea have been organizing presidential and governmental visits, working together on the Korean Peninsula, assisting with the development of other countries, and cooperating in numerous areas.This hindered trade between Seoul and Beijing, because South Korea was unable to protect its citizens and business interests in China without some form of international agreements.[clarification needed] In 1973, President Park Chung-hee announced his "Peaceful Reunification Foreign Policy" and expressed interest in establishing diplomatic relations with communist countries, including the People's Republic of China.[24]: 165 Park initiated and President Chun Doo-hwan advanced a policy of establishing relations with China and the Soviet Union, and attempting to improve those with North Korea.[24]: 160 A peace treaty was also signed at the ceremony declaring an official end of hostilities between South Korea and China as a result of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement.[27] On 29 November 2010, a United States diplomatic cables leak mentioned two unknown Chinese officials telling then Vice-Foreign Minister Chun Yung-woo that the PRC would favor a Korea reunified under the South's government, as long as it was not hostile to China.[33] In May 2021, Moon issued a statement remarking that South Korea would work with the United States on stability in Taiwan,[34] which provoked a warning from China.Zhao Lijian, a Chinese government spokesperson said that he hoped the meeting could "have a positive effect on enhancing communication and mutual trust and the promotion of bilateral relations".[44] In December 2010, the crew of a Chinese trawler clashed with a South Korean patrol ship, leaving one fisherman dead, two missing, and four coast guards injured.[47] In June 2023, the two countries entered into an agreement whereby South Korea would notify China of suspected illegal fishing in North Korean waters.[48] In December 2024, South Korean intelligence detected a floating structure built by the PRC in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the two countries overlap.[49] The long-running dispute over fishing rights and EEZ intensified after South Korea opened a research platform in 2003 above the submerged Socotra Rock.[52][53] The U.S. states that the deployment of the THAAD is “purely a defensive measure… only aimed at North Korea” and has no intention to threaten China's security interests.[59][60][61] March sales of Hyundai and its sister brand Kia Motors in China plunged 52 per cent from a year earlier to 72,000 vehicles, the lowest level since 2014.[63] To relieve the economic strain the informal Chinese sanctions placed on South Korea, president Moon promised “three No-s,” saying that he would not participate in the US missile defense system, that he was not considering the additional deployment of THAAD, and that Japan-US-Korea security cooperation would not develop into a military alliance.[72][73] Past president, Roh Moo-Hyun, expressed regret over China's Northeast Project during a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.[74] To counter the Northeast Project, South Korea's government launched the Koguryo Research Foundation[75] and in 2007 rewrote the Korean Bronze Age in history textbooks to have started in 2000 B.C.[79] In 2020, South Korean media outlet JTBC reported that a number of American college prep books described Korea as part of China during the Tang, Ming, and Qing dynasties.[82] The same month, Seoul police arrested a Chinese researcher and charged him with smuggling thousands of files related to medical robot technology to China.[83] In November 2023, the National Intelligence Service reported that Chinese companies had established dozens of fake websites that mimicked legitimate Korean news outlets.[96] A 2020 Gallup International poll had 84% of South Koreans viewing China's foreign policy as destabilizing to the world, which was the second highest percentage out of 44 countries surveyed.[97][98] Poor relations along with media reports and movies perpetuating a negative, criminal image of Chinese in South Korea has led to some online hate speech expressed in the top comments of major news portals.[99][100] During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half a million South Korean citizens have signed a petition lobbying the government to ban Chinese from entering the country.
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