AdvertisementChina-South Korea relationsChinaDiplomacy

China and South Korea accuse each other of undermining key principles

3-MIN READ3-MIN Listen

Orange WangPublished: 7:12pm, 4 Sep 2026Updated: 7:14pm, 4 Sep 2026

China and South Korea have exchanged formal protests over the highly sensitive Taiwan question and Korean unity.

The two countries have been trying to improve relations in recent months, but South Korea’s national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said he had issued “a serious objection” after an official Chinese statement welcomed moves “towards the peaceful coexistence of the two states of South and North Korea”.Meanwhile, Beijing “lodged serious representations” with Seoul over an art event that featured a “Taiwan pavilion”, prompting mainland China’s artists to withdraw from the event in protest.Wi’s protest was prompted by a statement issued after his recent meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

“Because the Chinese side’s post-meeting statement included the expression ‘two states’ and this differs from what we think, we raised a serious objection,” Wi said in a press briefing.

South Korea does not recognise North Korea as a separate sovereign state, instead viewing the Korean peninsula as a single territory awaiting reunification.

AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x