June 10 (UPI) -- China's top diplomat to South Korea said Seoul should take into consideration Beijing's views on the South China Sea and Taiwan, the same day the Chinese foreign ministry slammed U.S. policies in the Indo-Pacific.
Ambassador Xing Haiming said Thursday on Kim Hyun-jung's News Show on South Korea's CBS Radio that "good relations" between China and Korea of the last 30 years "should not be affected" by "Cold War-era thinking," a reference to the official Chinese position on U.S. policy.
Xing previously criticized the U.S.-South Korea joint summit statement issued last month, which stressed the "importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." Under its one-China policy, Beijing does not recognize Taiwanese sovereignty.
The Chinese diplomat said U.S.-China relations are "not good" and accused Washington of "laying siege to" and "suppressing" his country.
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Xing claimed that China does not seek reprisals because of references to the Taiwan Strait.
"Rather than retaliate, we continue to convey our hopes" on the issues, the ambassador said.
"Generally, [China-Korea relations] are going in a good direction, but it is not without problems."
After South Korea agreed to deploy the U.S. missile defense system THAAD on the peninsula in 2016, the number of Chinese tourists to Korea fell 30% from 2017 to 2020, according to data from Korea Tourism Organization. Analysts have said China placed "unofficial sanctions" on Korea.
In a separate statement Thursday, China's foreign ministry said Minister Wang Yi is "strongly opposed" to the United States' strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Wang conveyed his views to South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Beijing said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last month that they "acknowledge the importance of open, transparent, and inclusive regional multilateralism including the Quad." Analysts previously have said that the Quad, comprising Australia, Japan, India and the United States, addresses strategic competition with China.
Xing also said Thursday that there are "almost no" COVID-19 cases in China because of the country's policies. The city of Guangzhou has been in lockdown this week amid an outbreak of the Delta variant, according to reports.
