WASHINGTON: Despite the fact that China is South Korea's largest commercial partner, observers say Seoul's growing connections with the United States and other wealthy democratic countries demonstrate its desire to offset Beijing's economic pressure, reported Voice of America.
After a month of diplomacy that included summits with the US and G7 leaders, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin stated on Wednesday at a hearing in Seoul that "reducing our reliance on China" and "diversifying our trading partners will help our economy." President Yoon Suk Yeol convened a Cabinet meeting on Monday following the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and stated that he had "secured the basis of cooperation" with G7 countries such as Canada, Australia, and Germany on "safeguarding supply chain networks" in crucial minerals and semiconductors, as per Voice of America.
Voice of America (VOA) is a US-based international broadcaster, that provides news and information in more than 40 languages.
South Korea was invited to the May 19-21 summit by Japan as a non-member of the G7, which comprises the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Seven of the world's wealthiest countries said in a joint press release on Saturday that they would "foster economic resilience" and oppose Beijing's "economic coercion" and "malign practises" by "de-risking and diversifying" their trade away from China.
In a separate statement issued the same day, they stated that countries that "attempt to weaponize economic dependencies" will "face consequences," but they did not name any countries.
Experts believe Yoon's attendance at the G7 summit, where the G-7 countries united against China's economic coercion, as well as his close alignment with Washington, indicate that Seoul has joined their efforts. (ANI)
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