À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Qiu Guohong
Bold actions like synchronized suspension of military drills in the South and provocations in the North and negotiations for denuclearization in return for peace treaty must be pursued along with pertinent pressure to solve the North Korean nuclear problem, said Qiu Guohong, Chinese Ambassador to Seoul.
Speaking at a Maekyung Economist Club event hosted by Maeil Business Newspaper in central Seoul on Monday, Qiu said yelling and flexing muscles won¡¯t help in the goal of denuclearization, lasting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula
He quoted an ancient Chinese war strategy to stress that one should leave a way out in besieging an enemy to argue that sanctions alone won¡¯t help to solve North Korean nuclear problem.
Beijing backs new South Korean President Moon Jae-in¡¯s engaging North Korean policy dubbed as ¡°Moonshine¡± to refer to his adaptation of Kim Dae-jung¡¯s Sunshine Policy.
¡°The president wants to renew dialogue and exchanges for denuclearization and peace in the peninsula which is in tune with China¡¯s initiative on North Korea,¡± he said.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë To stress Beijing¡¯s rare support for Moon, Qiu said he had pre-arranged for Moon to speak immediately with Chinese President Xi Jinping upon election victory. Xi had been first to call up Moon when he won the May 9 snap election, raising hopes for improved ties after bilateral relations have soured due to row over deployment of powerful U.S. antimissile system dubbed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Moon during campaign said he would revisit the decision about THAAD that was hurriedly installed just before the election.
Meanwhile, Qiu defended China¡¯s economy that has been showing signs of slowing down. Recently, global credit rating agency Moody¡¯s Investors Service Inc. downgraded China¡¯s sovereign rating to A1 from Aa3 for the first time in 28 years since 1989. Qiu said that it is true that there are lingering uncertainties such as financial risk in the Chinese economy still laden with oversupply problems. But the Chinese government had been progressing well with reforms, and the economy has been picking up speed. He claimed Moody¡¯s overrated Chinese government¡¯s debt level and made wrong assessment on its debt conditions.
By Kim Dae-gi and Lim Young-sin
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]