ABC News:
BEIJING — The top South Korean and Chinese diplomats pledged Tuesday to develop closer relations and maintain stable industrial supply chains at a time of deepening rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
South Korea, a longtime U.S. ally, is struggling to strike a balance between Washington and the increasingly assertive foreign policy of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government. U.S.-Chinese conflict over Taiwan has added to complications for governments that want amicable ties with both sides.
Foreign Ministers Park Jin and Wang Yi, in separate statements from their meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, called for the development of relations based on three decades of successful commercial ties.
Park’s ministry said the countries agreed to increase high-level communication over supply chain issues, climate change cooperation and facilitating cultural exchanges. It said the countries agreed to pursue “two-plus-two” talks by vice ministerial-level officials of foreign affairs and defense within this year.
Park and Wang gave no indication they discussed tensions over last week’s visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to self-ruled Taiwan, which the mainland’s ruling Communist Party claims is Chinese territory. Beijing reacted to her visit by conducting military drills to intimidate the island and called off dialogue with Washington on climate change and other issues.
