Sponsored by the Korea Foundation (KF) and hosted by the Institute for China & World Studies and the School of Political Science & International Relations (SPSIR) of Tongji University, the symposium on “China-ROK Economic Relations and Northeast Asian Cooperation” was successfully held at Tongji University on May 11, 2019. The meeting brought together more than 10 Chinese and Korean scholars from Kyonggi University, Yonsei University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Tongji University, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Fudan University and Yanbian University to fully discuss topics including “New Opportunities and Challenges for the Development of China-ROK Relations” and “China-ROK Economic Cooperation and Economic Integration and Development in Northeast Asia”.

      Tongji Distinguished Professor Men Honghua, Dean of SPSIR and President of the Institute for China & World Studies, Tongji University, gave an opening speech at the meeting. He pointed out that the international situation and the world economy are undergoing significant changes recently, many countries have been affected by the foreign economic behaviors of the United States, and both China and ROK are under economic pressure from the US. As such, Chinese and Korean scholars must have a lot of in-depth thinking about how to repair the economic relations after the THAAD dispute, how to promote China-ROK economic cooperation, and how to advance regional economic integration to promote regional stability and prosperity. He looked forward to discussing with the participants around the theme. 

      Associate Dean Prof. Zheng Chunrong moderated the first session. Lim Ho-yeol, a professor at the Department of Trade of Kyonggi University, made a speech on the topic of “China-US Trade Dispute and the Direction of China-ROK Economic Cooperation”. He believed that the China-US trade dispute mirrors the conflict between China’s 2025 strategy in the process of industrial upgrading and the United States’ high-tech industry, the pillar of its comprehensive strength. Another reason is the conflict between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the US hegemony. For China and ROK, the biggest core issue is to complete negotiations on services and investment for the China-ROK FTA as soon as possible. Li Kaisheng, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of SASS, made a speech on the topic of “ROK’s Roles and Policies in Northeast Asian Cooperation”. According to him, ROK can play the following roles in Northeast Asian cooperation: the first is compromiser, especially when two great powers are at odds with each other, ROK is sometimes a good third-party option; the second is communicator, a very important role in the negotiations between the US and DPRK; the third is an advocate, ROK can put forward some very important cooperation initiatives; the fourth is facilitator, which means ROK can use its status and economic strength to facilitate cooperation agreements or regional cooperation with other parties. He Xiyou, an associate professor at the School of Economics of Fudan University, made a keynote speech on the topic of “Trend and Potential of China’s Direct Investment in ROK”. Based on the data of China’s actual direct investment in ROK from 1990 to 2018, and the tracking data of China’s direct investment global by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), he has studied the trend and potential of China’s investment in ROK. Kim Young-wan, an associate professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Diplomacy of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, gave a keynote speech on the topic of “Impact of China-ROK Aid Policy on Public Opinion in Africa”. According to his “triangular cooperation” theory, China can cooperate with ROK in terms on software development while launching large-scale construction projects in Africa, in addition to cooperation with local communities. In this way, China and ROK can not only help with the infrastructure development in Africa, but also gain local people’s support. Piao Dongxun, an associate professor at the International Politics Research Office, the Center for North and South Korea Studies, Yanbian University, made a speech on the topic of “Impact of DPRK’s Internal and Foreign Affairs on the Peninsula Situation and China-ROK Cooperation in the New Era”. He believed that China should continue to provide strategic support to DPRK and try to allow DPRK to negotiate with the US on an “equal” footing to make the negotiations sustainable; The “dual-track” approach can be turned into an actionable “roadmap” to balance and ensure the interests of all parties; On the premise that China, DPRK and Russia have agreed on addressing the issue of denuclearization, efforts should be made to seek a tacit understanding with ROK, so that the joint forces of China, DPRK, Russia and ROK will serve as an important basis for negotiations with the US in which China plays a dominant role. Guo Rui, a professor at the School of Public Administration of Jilin University, commented on the speeches in the first session. 

      Prof. Lim Ho-yeol moderated the second session. Prof. Guo Rui gave a speech on the topic of “Integration of ROK’s ‘New Northern Policy’ with China-Russia ‘Polar Silk Road’ from the Perspective of Strategic Alignment”. Based on domestic scholars’ discussions on the “strategic alignment model”, Prof. Guo analyzed the conditions, alignment model and fields for choice in aligning the “New Northern Policy” with the “Polar Silk Road”. He believed that China and ROK share complementary advantages in the development and cooperation in the Arctic and the Russian Far East, and the two countries have a relatively high degree of supply and demand matching, so they are well positioned to align the “New Northern Policy” with the “Polar Silk Road”. At the same time, there are several issues or dilemmas yet to be addressed, e.g. how long the alignment will last, how dynamically supply will match with demand, there are limited national resources available, and too many fields for choice. Woo Byung-won, an associate professor at the Department of Politics and Diplomacy of Yonsei University, made a speech on the topic of “China-ROK Economic Cooperation and the Foreign Economic Policies & Initiatives of China and ROK”. He believed that China and ROK can promote bilateral economic cooperation globally within the AIIB framework if they find common goals in their respective foreign economic policies. In his speech entitled “Aligning the New Northern Policy with the Belt and Road Initiative: Benefits and Challenges for China-ROK Cooperation”, Chung Young-june, an assistant professor at SPSIR, analyzed the issues related to the alignment of ROK’s New Northern Policy with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Chun Ja-hyun, an assistant professor at the Department of International Relations of Yonsei University, delivered a speech on the topic of “Formation of the East Asian Community and Cooperation between Local Governments”. She believed that since China, Japan and ROK have certain experience in promoting cooperation at the local government level, they can further strengthen cooperation and exchanges between local governments and promote multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia by building international institutions and providing government funding. In her speech entitled “A Study on the Trade Competitiveness between China and ROK from the Perspective of Revealed Comparative Advantage”, SPSIR Assistant Professor Li Boying pointed out that China and ROK should leverage their respective comparative advantages to promote business partnerships between the two sides, explore infrastructure and capacity cooperation in third countries including ASEAN states to help upgrade their industrialization and urbanization, promote regional connectivity, and provide diverse channels for bilateral economic and trade, in order to better achieve mutual benefit and common development. Zhong Zhenming, an associate professor and head of the Department of International Relations at SPSIR, commented on the second session.

      After the open discussion, Dean Men made a concluding speech, in which he commented on the positioning of China-ROK relations and ROK’s national positioning. He pointed out that there are active positioning and passive positioning, and both South Korea and China-ROK relations can be positioned more positively. Regarding the externality of China’s economy, he believed that in the process of China’s rise, it will have closer ties with the outside world. And the past experience of ROK and other developed countries such as the United States, Britain, Japan and Germany can serve as a good example for China in its practices. Looking forward to the future of China-ROK cooperation and Northeast Asian cooperation, Dean Men said that today’s meeting has suggested many approaches, such as aligning national strategies and acting as a bridge. Besides, historical reconciliation plays a very important role. The realization of historical reconciliation requires us to increase understanding of the history and continue such in-depth discussions. He welcomed the guests to Tongji again for more discussion in this regard.