Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 12/2014

South Korea and China: A Strategic Partnership in the Making

Mr Alain Guidetti

July 2014

The Geneva Centre for Security Policy

Abstract

President Xi Jinping's July 2014 visit to Seoul indicates that the strategic partnership between China and the Republic of Korea is moving forward against a backdrop of growing power competition and instability in the region. Both Seoul and Beijing have strong interest in close cooperation: Beijing wants to prevent a full-fledged trilateral alliance between the US, Japan and South Korea aimed at containing China's rising power Seoul needs Chinese support in its efforts to reach out to Pyongyang and work towards future reunification.