Following South Korea’s election of liberal politician Moon Jae-in, hopes are growing that restrictions on travel to country from China, entertainment and film will soon be lifted
South Korea’s recent election of liberal politician Moon Jae-in as the country’s new president has triggered a shift in China’s approach to relations with Seoul.
After months of harsh criticism of South Korea’s decision to deploy a U. S.-made missile defense system and the enactment of harsh economic sanctions, Beijing appears to be changing its tact.
Its opposition to South Korea’s deployment of the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system has not gone away, but is becoming less shrill.
And some see signs that China is already beginning to loosen its ban on the import of South Korean cultural products such as television shows and entertainment performances, as well as group travel by Chinese tourists to the country.
The shift started with signals from the top late last week.
On Friday, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with an envoy of South Korean President Moon, he said Beijing was willing to work together with Seoul to “properly handle disputes” and “put China-South Korea relations back onto a normal track.”
Over the past few days, reports in the Chinese state media have noted signals that the ice-breaking may have already begun. Two South Korean musicals already have performance dates in Beijing and Shanghai.
