Chinese envoy blames Korean media for China-bashing

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 07:03

Foreign Affairs

Chinese envoy blames Korean media for China-bashing

Posted : 2022-12-14 17:03

Updated : 2022-12-15 14:25

China's Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming speaks at a press forum on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties at the Press Center, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Korean journalists attribute 'THAAD revenge' to growing anti-Beijing sentiment

By Jung Min-ho

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming blamed the Korean media for creating anti-China sentiment among the Korean public, claiming that some media outlets are using China coverage as click bait.

The Chinese envoy's remarks show that there is a striking gap between Korea and China in their perceptions of the reason behind the growing anti-China sentiment in Korea as Koreans believe Beijing's retaliatory measures following the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) has been at the center of Koreans' negative perceptions of China.

At Wednesday's press forum on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, Xing voiced concerns that Koreans increasingly perceive his country negatively, saying the media's unfavorable coverage has been "one of the causes."

"I hope you (journalists) will show the truthful and warm side of China, which would help the Korean people understand China and Chinese people objectively and rationally," Xing said at the event co-hosted by the Korea Press Foundation and the Chinese Embassy. "Some media outlets tend to focus on covering negative information to draw attention and get clicks. This would affect the public opinion negatively."

He made the remarks as the Chinese government is still enforcing its unofficial ban on the import of Korean cultural content and many other products such as video games. Known as the "THAAD revenge," the unofficial ban was Beijing's response to Seoul's decision to deploy the U.S. missile defense system in its territory in 2017.

Korean journalists disagreed with the Chinese envoy's view.

They said, although the media may have played some role in shaping the negative image of China, the fundamental responsibility falls on those who decided to take retaliatory action.

"Unless we address the THAAD revenge issue, we cannot explain or resolve China's negative image problem," Park Min-hee, an editorial writer at the Hankyoreh, a Korean liberal daily, said.

According to a survey this year by the Pew Research Center, a U.S. think tank, unfavorable views of China among Koreans have increased substantially over the last several years to hit a historic high of 80 percent.

Unfavorable views of China among Koreans stood at only 31 percent in a 2002 survey by the same organization. But the figure increased steadily before hovering at around 50 percent for some time and then surging to 61 percent in 2017, the year the THAAD revenge began.

In another poll conducted on people in their 20s and 30s by the Dong-a Ilbo, a conservative daily, 78.8 percent of the respondents said they view China negatively. When asked for the reasons, 52.9 percent picked the Chinese government's "overbearing diplomacy and attitude."

"Many Chinese I have met share the view that external factors (meaning the U.S.-led West) and the media are largely responsible for negatively affecting relations between the two countries. I disagree," Yoon Wan-joon, the Dong-a's international news desk editor, said.

As is the case in China, the Korean government makes diplomatic decisions by considering various factors comprehensively, Yoon said. Besides, unlike the Chinese media, Korean journalists tend to focus on criticizing those in power as they should, he added.

None of the Chinese journalists who participated in the discussion mentioned anything about the THAAD issue.

All participants agreed, however, that the two countries need to cooperate to improve their relations and more exchanges between young people would be the key. Chinese journalists also expressed hopes that more cultural exchanges will lead to a healthier, more constructive relationship between the two countries.

Buffeted by the global coronavirus pandemic and geopolitical issues ― particularly growing security threats from Pyongyang ― neither country has been in the mood to celebrate the diplomatically meaningful year so far.

But earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Korea and China held a virtual meeting where they agreed to strengthen bilateral diplomatic ties through "high-level exchanges," including a possible visit to Seoul by Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit.

Speaking to reporters after his speech, Xing said nothing has been determined yet about the next summit. When asked whether Xi would visit Korea, given that a Korean president visited China for the previous summit, the ambassador said there is no particular order.

mj6c2@koreatimes.co.kr