Korea and China celebrate the 24th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Aug. 24, but bilateral ties have suffered considerably in recent months due to Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system here.
Amid rising tensions between the two countries, President Park Geun-hye will visit China to attend the 11th G20 summit in Hangzhou on Sept. 4 to 5. Her last visit to China in September 2015 came under different circumstances. Korea-China ties were enjoying renewed solidarity upon the President's decision to visit Beijing for war commemorations despite concerns over unsettling Washington. Her China visit next month comes as the two countries are at odds over the U.S. Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system being deployed here.
The two countries' differences over THAAD should not hurt the fruitful economic and cultural relations the two countries have cultivated for more than two decades. Despite China's THAAD protest, many Koreans still see China as "hao pengyou" or good friend.
Under the leaderships of President Park and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the bilateral ties had become very close. Park said that the two countries are "friends who have endured adversity together." But it is also true that many Koreans do not understand the fierce opposition Beijing has lodged over THAAD. Many Koreans believe that Beijing's protest is an encroachment on internal affairs and an excessive interference in our security decision-making process.
The G20 summit, to be held under the theme "Toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy," will be centered on economic cooperation among G20 countries. But Seoul should take advantage of Park's G20 visit for THAAD diplomacy. For this, a Korea-China summit should be arranged on the sidelines. A bilateral summit in China will be a good opportunity for President Park to make a strong case for her decision to deploy THAAD and convince her Chinese counterpart that the decision will not hamper China's security interests in anyway.
The need for a Korea-China summit is highlighted considering that efforts at the working-level so far have failed to promote China's cooperation on the THAAD issue. Based on the good personal relations between Park and Xi, Park should seek to improve relations with our main trading partner by extracting Beijing's understanding on THAAD.