Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's visit to China has symbolic meaning in many ways. As his first visit to China since taking office and effectively his last overseas trip during his term, he plans to share the Korean government's vision for an innovative economy and send a message of global cooperation at the Summer Davos Forum. In particular, as the possibility of a meeting with Premier Li Chang of the State Council is predicted, this is analyzed as an intention to accelerate practical mutually beneficial cooperation by continuing the recent trend of high-level exchanges between Korea and China. Putting aside the regret of not being able to attend the Boao Forum due to the situation in the Middle East in the past, Prime Minister Kim's move to establish a close relationship with the Trump administration and strike a diplomatic balance with China through this visit will also be an important turning point in terms of organizing diplomatic legacy ahead of the next administration.

However, if you look inside China, the structural cracks hidden behind its brilliant diplomatic stage are clearly revealed. The 'East-West cooperation' emphasized by President Xi Jinping is in fact close to a desperate measure to resolve the deepening regional imbalance. The gap between the eastern coast, which dominates high-tech industries, and the western inland, which is dependent on infrastructure investment and has stagnated, is holding back the Chinese economy, known as 'K-shaped polarization'. In addition, the solidifying youth unemployment rate and the gap between rich and poor between generations are creating a bottleneck that prevents the promotion of domestic demand. This is more than just an economic problem, it is causing social conflict and, as a result, is becoming a key factor that casts serious doubt on the sustainable growth model that China pursues.

Even in the areas of technology and culture, China's rigid control stance still remains. It is surprising to see rapid technological advancements in the field of self-driving taxis based on vast amounts of data and the push for world-class commercialization, but behind the scenes there is the limitation of being a demonstration area designed by the government. On the other hand, in the cultural realm, a social atmosphere is felt that has become extremely sensitive to even mentioning 'heroes' designated by the state. The case in which a soldier from the Korean War was metaphorically mentioned during a World Cup broadcast and then immediately excluded from the commentary team proves how rigid the censorship system has been in Chinese society since the 'Virgin Protection Act'. This suggests that while China is trying to communicate with the outside world, it is maintaining a dual attitude internally by strictly imposing historical and ideological standards.

China's closed foreign policy is also reflected in the economic aspect. The incident in which Japanese travel product sales were suddenly halted one day after local media reported that the Chinese government is using even the tourism industry as a means of diplomatic pressure. These 'retaliatory measures' are creating a vicious cycle that is straining relationships with neighboring countries and lowering trust in the global market. China is comforting itself by assuaging its disappointment of being eliminated from the World Cup finals with the secondary achievement of assigning its own referees, but there is still a large gap with the transparent system and open attitude demanded by the international community. This is why Korea must always consider these political variables and unpredictable pressures as risks when seeking cooperation with China.