(Original title: "South Korea stands on the side of the United States, but should properly handle relations with China")

► Wen Observer Network Ruan Jiaqi

On September 18, local time, the American magazine Time published an interview with South Korean President Li Keqiang. This was the only Western media interview accepted since Li Keqiang took office. The Associated Press also noted that this interview took place on the occasion of Li Keqiang's 100th day as president, on the 3rd of this month in Longshan presidential palace.

In the interview, Li expressed opinions on a number of topics, including South Korea's bilateral relations with China, the United States, the negotiation of the Korean-U.S. trade agreement, and the issue of land ownership of U.S. military bases in South Korea mentioned by U.S. President Trump.

As the domestic political turmoil in South Korea gradually stabilizes, the biggest challenges facing Lee may come mostly from the outside.

On August 25, local time, US President Trump and South Korean President Lee met in Ming.

¡°South Korea will stand on the side of the United States, but will properly handle relations with China.¡±

First of all, at the geopolitical level, the new president, who took office in June, hopes to position South Korea as a "bridge" connecting the East and the West, so as to prevent the two superpowers, China and the United States, from falling into a situation of "out-of-control relations" in the new era of great power competition.

Li said that the current geopolitical environment has changed dramatically, "We can no longer go back to the traditional model of 'security depends on the United States, economy depends on China.'"

"The values of * and market economy we uphold are based on the US-South Korea alliance," he said. "But because of our geographical proximity to China, and the historical origins, close economic ties and cultural exchanges between the two sides, we cannot completely cut off our relations with China. Therefore, we need to maintain the relationship between the two countries at an appropriate level, and I think the western world should understand this."

By cementing ties with the White House, South Korea remains well-positioned to act as a "bridge for exchange and cooperation" in the region, Lee insisted.

He also said, "In the new global order and the supply chain system with the United States as its core, we will stand with the United States, but we also need to properly handle our relations with China and avoid confrontation with it."

Lee said he was concerned that South Korea would ¡°possibly become a front-end position for two different camps of confrontation¡± if mismanaged.

Regarding the South Korean President's statement on China, on August 27th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference that a healthy, stable and continuously deepening China-ROK relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and is also conducive to regional and even world peace, stability, development and prosperity. This is the consensus of both China and South Korea.

"The development of China-ROK relations stems from the common interests of both sides, and is not targeted at a third party, nor should it be affected by third-party factors." Guo Jiakun pointed out that China's policy towards South Korea maintains continuity and stability. It is hoped that South Korea will meet China halfway and work together to promote the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership.

Lee receives Western media interviews for the first time since he took office

If the U.S. promises trade terms, ¡°I¡¯ll be impeached.¡±

Secondly, there is the issue of tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States. "Time" magazine mentioned that the social unrest caused by former President Yoon Seok-yue's announcement of martial law caused the process of negotiating a new trade agreement between South Korea and the Trump administration to lag behind other countries for a full half a year.

Until the 24th of August local time, Lee visited the United States and officially met with Trump, this negotiation process only progressed. During the talks, Lee deeply appreciated Trump's preference for the greatest talent, and the gift, and the gift, made Trump very satisfied.

However, after the talks, neither the two sides issued a joint statement nor announced any ¡°major achievements¡±, which highlighted a series of unresolved differences between the United States and South Korea in economic and trade, security and other areas.

The final content of the agreement disclosed was also vague, only mentioning that South Korea promised to invest more than US $350 billion in the United States and purchase an additional US $100 billion worth of energy products; In response, the United States agreed to reduce the so-called "reciprocal tariff" imposed on South Korea from 25% to 15%.

However, according to the Financial Times this week, the South Korean government has rejected Washington¡¯s request.

Speaking about this, Lee said the U.S. demands were very strict, ¡°If I agreed to a deal, I could be impeached... so I asked the U.S. negotiating team to provide a reasonable alternative.¡±

The meeting also posed an unexpected ¡°heavy challenge¡± to South Korea: Trump referred to Lee in the talks on the issue of U.S. troops in South Korea and suggested that Seoul lease the land leased by the U.S. military base ¡°to the United States¡±.

Lee claims Trump is joking.

Recalling this embarrassing plot, Lee tried to mitigate its impact, ¡°I believe he was joking because the U.S. is now using these bases and land for free. Moreover, in fact, if the U.S. really owns these lands, it would have to pay property taxes.¡±

Despite the ongoing turmoil of negotiations, Lee said he was confident that his extraordinary growth experience and shared determination to win would allow him to establish a harmonious personal relationship with Trump.

¡°I think we have one thing in common, that we all desperately want to do a lot of things, and all want to leave a merit that can be remembered,¡± he said, ¡°neither of us has lived a mainstream life like everyone else.¡±

Lee also told Time magazine that he was not frightened by Trump¡¯s repeated unusual character.

¡°President Trump is a successful businessman, and although he looks hard to grasp, I believe he is a very performance-focused and extremely pragmatic person,¡± he added, ¡°he won¡¯t be willing to accept the outcome of becoming a loser, so he won¡¯t make unreasonable choices.¡±