OPINION:
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May was China’s month for international diplomacy. President Xi Jinping’s trip to Europe, from May 5 to 10, for meetings in France, Hungary and Serbia focused on enhancing “mutually beneficial cooperation” between China and Europe. The June elections for a new European Parliament, which may determine the European Union’s orientation toward China, were understandably part of the motivation for Mr. Xi’s outreach to Europe.
Criticism of the U.S. was also on Mr. Xi’s agenda. On May 7, Mr. Xi wrote an op-ed for Serbia’s Politika newspaper, stating that “we must not forget that 25 years ago today, NATO [i.e., the U.S.] brazenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. The Chinese people value peace but will never allow historical tragedies to happen again.”
Mr. Xi was aware that President Bill Clinton reached Chinese President Jiang Zemin — who was not reachable, refusing to take Mr. Clinton’s call until May 14 — and apologized on the phone for the accidental NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s May 26-28 summit — the first since 2019 — with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida focused on trade and security issues and enhancing three-way cooperation. Mr. Li urged Japan and South Korea to reject “protectionism” and embrace free trade while clearly stating China’s geopolitical objective with this diplomatic outreach: “We need to promote multipolarity in the world and oppose the formation of blocs or camps.”
Mr. Li clearly was referring to the United States and the establishment of AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.), the Quad (Australia, Japan, India and the U.S.), the Washington Declaration (South Korea and the U.S.) and the Camp David Agreement (South Korea, Japan and the U.S.).
An interesting and positive development was what China, South Korea and Japan said in paragraph 35 of the Joint Declaration of the summit: “We affirmed that maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia serves our common interest and is our common responsibility. We reiterated positions on regional peace and stability, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the abductions issue, respectively.”
North Korea immediately responded, condemning China, Japan and South Korea for discussing denuclearization of the peninsula, calling their joint declaration a “grave political provocation” that violates North Korea’s sovereignty. This was a rare criticism of China from North Korea; China is its only ally and its economic lifeline.
Never to disappoint, North Korea notified Japan just before the summit that it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite between May 27 and June 4. Tokyo and Seoul responded quickly, telling Pyongyang not to go ahead with the launch, which they said was illegal — in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. On May 27, North Korea announced that its attempt to put a second spy satellite into orbit failed when the rocket exploded.
On May 31, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had a 75-minute meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Defense Minister Dong Jun, in Singapore. China said the meeting was “positive, pragmatic and constructive. The two sides agreed that a stable U.S.-China military-to-military relationship is important.”
What detracted from China’s economic and political outreach to Europe, Japan and South Korea, and the constructive meeting of Mr. Austin with Mr. Dong was China’s reaction to the May 20 inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te. On May 23, China conducted a large-scale military exercise — Joint Sword 2024A — saying it “served as strong punishment for separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces and a strong message against the interference and provocation by external forces.”
China deployed 49 aircraft and 19 navy vessels to encircle Taiwan and the Wuqui and Dongyin islands, saying this was a comprehensive law enforcement operation with the participation of 16 coast guard vessels from Fujian province.
This was China’s third military exercise encircling and attempting to intimidate Taiwan. Working with the Chinese navy, coast guard vessels from Fujian province appear to be preparing for a potential quarantine, blockade or invasion.
This recent military exercise and China’s continued aggressive acts toward the Philippines regarding the Second Thomas Shoal are obviously of concern to the U.S., an ally of the Philippines. Footage of episodes where Chinese ships have used water cannons and lasers on Philippine vessels attempting to travel to disputed islands has generated international anger at China’s bullying tactics.
China’s support for Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, military exercises around Taiwan, and bullying of the Philippines in the South China Sea detract from China’s efforts to garner greater support from the Global South and other nonaligned nations. Indeed, Mr. Xi’s outreach to Europe and Mr. Li’s summit with South Korea and Japan were designed to present China in a more favorable light.
The trilateral summit with China, South Korea and Japan did produce an opportunity for these three countries to work together again, as they did in the Six-Party Talks, to bring regional peace and stability with the eventual denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
This is an opportunity for China, an ally of North Korea, to use its influence and persuade North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to return to negotiations, with the prospect of sanctions relief for a moratorium on fissile production for nuclear weapons and a halt to ballistic missile launches.
• Joseph R. DeTrani served as special envoy for the Six-Party Talks with North Korea from 2003 to 2006 and as director of the National Counterproliferation Center. The views expressed here are the author’s and not those of any government agency or department.
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