The Institute of International Affairs has released the new Pacific Report No. 35.

In this issue, Professor Young Nam Cho, Professor of Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University, contributed an article titled <A Historical Scene Showing the Changed U.S.–China Relationship: An Analysis of the Trump–Xi Jinping Summits>.

Professor Cho explains that the summit was the first visit to China by a U.S. president in nine years, since 2017, where the leaders of the two countries showed that they do not want U.S.–China relations to deteriorate and that they are willing to make efforts to maintain a stable relationship going forward.

According to Professor Cho, President Xi Jinping displayed the attitude of a “philosopher king” who redefines U.S. China relations through grand discourse, while President Trump consistently adopted a conciliatory attitude, offering exaggerated praise or even flattery.

Professor Cho comments that South Korea must deal with a China whose international standing has risen even further.