South Korean president to visit Beijing

The Japanese news media have earlier reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may visit China around Sept 3, a report that had been denied by Beijing.

But at a Tuesday talk at the Heritage Foundation, US scholars and former officials, such as Evans Revere, a former State Department official and now with the Brookings Institution, and Sheila Smith, a senior fellow for Japan studies at Council on Foreign Relations, showed more interest in a trilateral meeting in Beijing between Xi, Park and Abe than separate visits by Abe or Park, a view that largely reflects Washington's concern about Beijing and Seoul getting too close.

After Beijing, Park will go to Shanghai to attend a ceremony on Sept 4 to reopen the office of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which was established in Shanghai in 1919. The office was set up by Korean independence fighters who fled to China after Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula in 1910.

Zhang Liangui, a Korean studies expert at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, observed that ruling and opposition parties in South Korea "have come to a rare consensus" over Park's China trip as they believe it will serve national interests.

Zhang said the trip will help balance Seoul's relationship with Beijing and with Washington, and will "serve as a big push to the China-South Korean relationship".

"The announcement by South Korea is of great significance, since it will contribute a lot to China's diplomatic efforts in organizing the events. It's a very good decision," Zhang said.

China is South Korea's largest trade partner, foreign investment destination and source of international students. The two nations concluded the substantial part of their negotiations over the bilateral free trade agreement last year.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that because the FTA remains to be approved by legislation, Park's visit will be a highly symbolic boost for finalizing the agreement.

Yang Yixi and Xinhua contributed to this story.