Sino-ROK Relations at a Crossroads: From Qiutong cunyi (求同存異) to Yizhong qiutong (異中求同)

Abstract

This essay argues that notwithstanding remarkable improvement in their 20-year relations, Seoul and Beijing remain divergent over a host of concrete and long-term policy issues. While their causes are many and interconnected, they are based on the working principle of qiutong cunyi (求同存異), meaning “seeking commonalities while setting aside the differences” or reaping the “low-lying fruits.” In light of the continuing problems, however, it is necessary to transform the working principle from qiutong cunyi to yizhong qiutong (異中求同), acknowledging the differences first before seeking common ground. In fact, the 20-year ties have shown mixed results: a) uneven growth in different issue-areas—the so-called “hot economy, cold politics”; b) rapid expansion in the number of actors and in the scope of their ties; c) the effect of the “rise of China” on their bilateral ties and the growing gap in their respective national power; and d) a widening gap between official rhetoric and reality. It is in this changing context that whenever bilateral disputes arise, they tend to spur popular resentment toward the other side. It is also worthwhile to remember that one major dimension of the Cheonan crisis is the growing awareness of the importance of U.S.-China relations in peninsular security. Not only did the death of Kim Jong-il transpire in the post-Cheonan context of tense inter-Korean relations, but the “competitive interdependence” between Beijing and Washington—in the form of strategic distrust, China’s rise, and recent readjustments in U.S. defense strategy—would affect the stability and prosperity in East Asia and the Korean peninsula. For individual countries their best investment would be building trust and securing cooperation at the regional level.