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15th Korea-China Forum for the Future

The 15th Korea-China Forum for the Future was held in Beijing, China (October 25-27) to exchange thoughts on matters of mutual concern in regard to bilateral and regional affairs. This year’s gathering included the participation of 38 delegates, 19 from Korea and 17 from China.



On the first day, Yang Wenchang, President of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), hosted a reception dinner for the forum participants. The CPIFA has served as the forum’s organizer for the Chinese side. The dinner event was held at the historic CPIFA complex that is situated directly across the Forbidden City, thus providing the participants with a view of one of China’s most iconic attractions. The event participants included Liu Shuqing, China’s former vice minister of foreign affairs, who hosted the inaugural Korea-China Forum session.

Search for Common Ground
During the forum, which was conducted at the St. Regis Hotel in Beijing, participants engaged in lively discussion and exchange of opinions about three main topics: “Korea-China relations for Northeast Asian regional cooperation,” “Recent political situation on the Korean Peninsula and Korea-China relations,” and “Korea-China cooperation in the field of green growth.”
At the initial session, Prof. Lee Kye-woo, of the Korea Development Institute, gave a presentation on the direction of the development agenda for the G20 Summit meeting and the roles for Korea and China, while Jiang Ruiping, a professor of the China Foreign Affairs University, discussed specific sectors and methods to bolster Northeast Asian cooperation. Following an animated discussion about efforts to align the G20 agenda with the affairs of East Asia, Zhang Tingyan, former Chinese ambassador to Korea, concluded the morning session with an observation that the prospects for political cooperation in the region are as bright as the potential for economic cooperation, which is currently enjoying considerable growth and success.
During the second session, which focused on political and diplomatic issues, the participants engaged in especially lively discussion and exchange of views. Of particular note, a clear difference of opinion was evident between the two sides in their interpretation of recent political developments in Northeast Asia. Following the presentations by Prof. Shi Yuhua of Fudan University and Dr. Lee Tae-hwan of Sejong Institute, the Korean and Chinese delegates exchanged views on a wide variety of topics, including the Cheonan incident, North Korea’s nuclear program, the Six-Party Talks, Sino-Japanese conflict, Sino-U.S. relations, the Korea-U.S. alliance, and North Korea’s power succession. Related to this process, the two sides revealed an obvious difference in perspective in regard to various matters. Of note, a discussion about the Korean War reached a noticeable level of disagreement.
After the session, Chung Jong-wook, former Korean ambassador to China, and Zhang Tingyan, former Chinese ambassador to Korea, observed that having such a frank, and even heated, debate between the two sides provided clear evidence of the extent to which the Korea-China relationship has matured in recent years. Of course, what they meant was that it was encouraging for the two sides to no longer sidestep sensitive issues, but instead engage in forthright discussion, in spite of apparent differences of opinion. As confirmation of this assessment, a Chinese delegate approached me and made an impressive remark at the end of the session. He noted: “We could never have this type of conversation with North Korea.”

Practical Proposals
As a result of the second session, the participants could see that there has been a great deal of progress in the Korea-China relationship, particularly in regard to economic activity, over the 18 years since the establishment of Korea-China diplomatic relations. But they also realized that their opinions continue to diverge on a number of other issues, which could be further widened due to the political uncertainty of Northeast Asia, including the situation of North Korea. However, both sides agreed that despite these differences, it is ever more critical and necessary to make efforts to better understand each other through more open-minded communication and to expand bilateral cooperation through a future-oriented perspective.
During the third session, the discussion centered on “green growth” initiatives that both countries are targeting for sustained economic development. Kim Hyong-guk, former chairman of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, and Dai Yande, deputy director-general of the Energy Research Institute of China, gave presentations about ways to promote bilateral cooperation for green growth, and China’s policy efforts to advance green growth measures, respectively. There was strong consensus on the need to identify specific projects for bilateral cooperation and to actively pursue follow-up efforts.
To wrap up the proceedings, Liu Shuqing, China’s former vice minister of foreign affairs, who has attended all of the forum sessions, again stressed the importance of hwaibudong, which can be defined as “seeking harmony despite differences,” and gudongjoni that calls for “putting aside minor differences for the greater cause,” in order to strengthen Korea-China bilateral cooperation.

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