Trading with a purpose

Chinese Premier Li Peng last week made a five-day visit to South Korea. Premier Li is the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Seoul.

The Sino-South Korean agenda has two components, one political, one economic. The most important element of the first is a peaceful resolution of the nuclear crisis that has overshadowed the Korean Peninsula for the past two years. During Premier Li's stopover, Pyongyang announced it was taking practical steps to put into effect its nuclear agreement with Washington.

Given a stable political environment, all the parties can then get down to business. China and South Korea are natural trading partners. Two-way trade last year reached US$9 billion and is expected to top $12 billion in 1994.

This spirit of cooperation has been made possible by the new political realities of Asia. The Cold War glaciers have not melted, they have been shattered.

The Cold War's end meant the end of rivalry with the former Soviet Union for the affections of Pyongyang's leadership. The coming to power of a new generation of leaders -- and especially the death of North Korean President Kim Il-sung -- has weakened the ties between the two communist allies.

China is telling South Korea that they can do business together, that they can be partners.

The new Sino-South Korean friendship is an opportunity. It offers new possibilities for burden-sharing in the region."

-- The Japan Times, Tokyo