In order to achieve the goal of realizing a 'well-off society', China's foreign policy is to construct a stable environment by cultivating friendly relations with neighboring nations under the goals of peace and development. China's policy towards the...
In order to achieve the goal of realizing a 'well-off society', China's foreign policy is to construct a stable environment by cultivating friendly relations with neighboring nations under the goals of peace and development. China's policy towards the Korean peninsula can also be analyzed through this lens.
With the changes in the Northeast Asian order brought by the end of the cold war and Sino-Soviet rapprochement, in particular the normalization of relations between South Korea and China in 1992, China's policy towards the Korean peninsula has been transformed along the utilitarian lines based on national interest. As its policy toward North Korea changed from partiality to a more balanced diplomacy, China began to actively directly voice its opinion and exert greater influence on Korean peninsular issues. However, after the Soviet Union's collapse, China under Jiang Zemin acknowledged its strategic mutual interdependence with North Korea, maintaining a somewhat passive attitude toward the nuclear crisis.
However, under Hu Jintao, who came to power in 2002, China adopted a strategy of 'China's revival' and cultivated an image as a 'responsible superpower', a core value in its foreign policy. China has revised its policy towards the Korean peninsula to increase its clout in the region. On one hand, the Hu Jintao government, in consideration of the Northeast Asian and global order, has endeavored to develop 'normal' inter-state relations with North Korea instead of according it a special status. On the other hand, China has promoted peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, mutual economic cooperation, and collaboration in East Asia as part of the common interest, increasing its efforts to develop 'overall cooperation and partner relations' with South Korea.