Among the many challenges that China had to face during the first four years of the Xi Jinping’s era, several comes from the new repositioning of the country in the regional and global arena. If Hu Jintao’s ten years in power can be considered as the decade of “China rising”, Xi’s presidency might be that of the consolidation of China’s new position. One of the most relevant security concerns for China is the Korean peninsula. The North Korean nuclear programme is a major factor of instability right outside Chi- na’s doorstep, and at the same time the long-time ally cannot be simply discarded by Beijing, for historical and cultural boundaries and for its well established buffer role between China’s border and US troops. The relation with Seoul is also of paramount importance for Beijing. First and foremost because of the high and growing economic interdependence between the two countries, but also for political and strategic reasons: the relations between China and South Korea are crucial in the regional balance of power and for the overall regional cooperation framework. Finally, both Koreas play a significant role in the broad picture of the new model of big power relations that is currently developing between China and United States, especially after the launch of American “rebalancing” strategy. Under Xi Jinping’s presidency, China’s approach to the Korean peninsula has shifted significantly, with a colder relationship with Pyong- yang and a closer one with Seoul. This paper aims at analysing the recent developments in Chin-Korea relations, under Xi Jinping, emphasizing the role of interactions between the new leadership and evaluating the evolutions in China’s attitude toward the peninsula. The article starts retracing the historical path that characterised the relations between China and Korea, especially after the end of the Cold War. Then, it separately analyses the evolution of Chinese relations with North and South Korea after the transitions of power that brought new leaders in all the three countries. Finally, the paper focuses on the repercussions that this evolution has had on the region and on the overall relation between China and the US, trying to answer the main question about China’s strategy towards the Korean peninsula.

L’evoluzione dei rapporti fra Cina e penisola coreana nell’era di Xi Jinping

Marco Milani
2017

Abstract

Among the many challenges that China had to face during the first four years of the Xi Jinping’s era, several comes from the new repositioning of the country in the regional and global arena. If Hu Jintao’s ten years in power can be considered as the decade of “China rising”, Xi’s presidency might be that of the consolidation of China’s new position. One of the most relevant security concerns for China is the Korean peninsula. The North Korean nuclear programme is a major factor of instability right outside Chi- na’s doorstep, and at the same time the long-time ally cannot be simply discarded by Beijing, for historical and cultural boundaries and for its well established buffer role between China’s border and US troops. The relation with Seoul is also of paramount importance for Beijing. First and foremost because of the high and growing economic interdependence between the two countries, but also for political and strategic reasons: the relations between China and South Korea are crucial in the regional balance of power and for the overall regional cooperation framework. Finally, both Koreas play a significant role in the broad picture of the new model of big power relations that is currently developing between China and United States, especially after the launch of American “rebalancing” strategy. Under Xi Jinping’s presidency, China’s approach to the Korean peninsula has shifted significantly, with a colder relationship with Pyong- yang and a closer one with Seoul. This paper aims at analysing the recent developments in Chin-Korea relations, under Xi Jinping, emphasizing the role of interactions between the new leadership and evaluating the evolutions in China’s attitude toward the peninsula. The article starts retracing the historical path that characterised the relations between China and Korea, especially after the end of the Cold War. Then, it separately analyses the evolution of Chinese relations with North and South Korea after the transitions of power that brought new leaders in all the three countries. Finally, the paper focuses on the repercussions that this evolution has had on the region and on the overall relation between China and the US, trying to answer the main question about China’s strategy towards the Korean peninsula.
2017
Marco Milani
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/776342
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