Written by Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, from The Korea Times:
President Lee Myung-bak has articulated policies toward the United States, North Korea, and Japan, but has been curiously silent on defining his administration’s relationship with China.
Although his forthcoming summit in Beijing may provide clues, Lee’s reticence may reflect the South Korean populace’s ambivalence toward a country that is both its largest trading partner and its greatest long-term geo-strategic and economic challenge.
The Blue House has announced that during his visit to Beijing, President Lee will “lay the framework for developing future-oriented South Korea-China relations by taking the overall bilateral relationship of cooperation to a higher level partnership.”
Read also Lee seeks to lift Sino-Korea ties to higher ground from Yonhap, and South Korean President Set to Discuss Security, Trade During China Visit from VOA.