CHINA-SOUTH KOREA
Ceremonies were held in Beijing and Seoul on Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, but neither of the Foreign Ministers attended the ceremonies.Presidents Xi Jinping and Moon Jae-in also sent each other polite messages, but without mentioning the current political stand-off. Chen Zhu, Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, was the highest-level official at a reception held at the Grand Hyatt in Beijing on August 23, 2017, according to Xinhua. At a separate reception in Beijing hosted by the South Korean Embassy on August 24, Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang, who is also Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Kong Xuanyou, China’s new Special Envoy for Korean Peninsula affairs, and Wang Yajun, an Assistant Minister of the CCP CC’s International Department attended. In Seoul, South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong attended a function held by the Chinese Embassy on August 24. |