Embracing the Complexities in China-ROK Relations: A View from China

China’s relations with the Republic of Korea have undergone twenty years of remarkable development since the two countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1992. Since the political relationship was upgraded to a “strategic partnership” in 2008, with ever-deepening economic interdependence and intensive societal exchanges, the two countries have entered a new and more complicated stage. The ROK’s closer economic relationship with China is now coupled with a closer security alliance with the United States, while intensified societal exchange is being accompanied by the decline of positive feelings in Sino-Korean mutual perceptions. While the two sides have been able to manage the fallout of the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong tragedies in 2010, greater efforts are needed to place the relationship on a solid basis in the context of China’s rise and the ROK’s desire to find a larger international role for itself.