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The United States is trying to convince Moon Jae-in to accept a strong statement of concern about China when South Korean President becomes the second world leader to meet Joe Biden in Washington on Friday.
The White House wants Moon to support robust language in a joint statement issued during the summit, as part of its strategy to work with allies to counter China, according to five people familiar with the situation.
But four people familiar with the talks between the White House and the Blue House, Seoul’s presidential mansion, said Moon was reluctant to include a language that would provoke a strong Beijing response.
South Korea is expected to agree to include a language on how to work the “Quad”, a grouping of the US, Japan, India and Australia that seeks to contain Chinese influence. But Seoul is only looking for a passing reference to avoid angering China, which has punished the United States and other Quad members for the association.
While South Korea has one security alliance with the United States, it has long resisted pressure to confront China more openly. During the Trump administration, he withdrew against U.S. requests to stop South Korean companies working with Huawei, the Chinese champion of telecommunications.
Seoul remains wary of provoking another backlash after South Korean companies clash Chinese boycotts in 2017 in response to the deployment of a US Thaad missile defense system.
“South Koreans have nightmares about more Thaad-type sanctions,” said Victor Cha, a South Korean expert at Georgetown University and a former White House official. “Seoul does not want to make difficult decisions about China, but not making a decision (coverage) is not a long-term strategy. It weakens the alliance and upsets China.”
Biden has given a bonus to strengthening alliances to create more leverage over China. At his summit with Yoshihide Suga last month, he persuaded the Japanese prime minister to issue a statement of support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.
Suga accepted the language – the first such statement in five decades – despite some concern in Tokyo about China’s economic retaliation.
The White House does not expect Moon to reach Suga. But one person said the U.S. was “pushing hard” to get tougher language in China. A second person said Biden hoped Moon would be more willing to grant him the privilege of the administration’s second face-to-face summit in Washington.
Seoul has asked the U.S. for Covid-19 vaccines to address supply constraints. He has proposed a “vaccine exchange” that would involve the U.S. providing short-term vaccines and recovering them later.
The White House declined to comment on talks with South Korea. The Blue House declined to comment on U.S. pressure on China.
Moon also hopes to get assurances from Biden about how the U.S. president intends to address the issue North Korea’s nuclear threat after Trump and Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, held three unsuccessful meetings.
The Moon administration has been pressuring Biden to ease international sanctions on Pyongyang or apply them more flexibly draws Kim back to the table for nuclear conversations.
The Biden administration recently completed a review of its North Korean policy, with the president’s team indicating that it was open to resuming diplomatic contact, but that sanctions would remain until Kim took a significant step. towards denuclearization.
Seoul also wants Biden to nominate an envoy to North Korea, but a person familiar with the situation said the White House was divided between candidates, suggesting an announcement that coincided with the summit was unlikely.
Executives of South Korean companies will accompany Moon to Washington and is expected to make announcements about U.S. investments in semiconductors, batteries and electric vehicles.
Carry on Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter
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