[Meanwhile] What really matters are national interests

Korea does not need to keep up with China. It only needs to focus on national interests.

PARK SEONG-HUNThe author is a Beijing correspondent of the JoongAng Ilbo. The Korean government has decided to extend the suspension of short-term visas to China until the end of February. There is no disagreement that the protection of citizens is the top priority. But responding with visa suspensions is rather excessive when Covid-19 infections can be prevented with PCR tests. It is questionable if the government thoroughly analyzed possible economic damage.

Seoul’s restrictions last month on entrants from China looked reasonable. After the lifting of the “zero-Covid” policy, the virus spread quickly across China. Speculation that up to 80 percent of the Chinese population may have been infected was convincing given its opaque statistics.

But the rate of decrease was just as fast as the spread. While the Chinese people were concerned about a second wave during the Spring Festival, there was no major shock, probably because most were already infected. On the streets of Beijing, it is easy to see people without masks.

The declining trend in China is evidently illustrated in the entry statistics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three out of 330 entrants from China, or 0.9 percent, were confirmed positive on February 1. Seven cases were found on January 31, three cases on the previous day, and two on January 29. Since the peak at 103 cases, or 31.5 percent, in early January, the cases have been in the single digits since January 13.

The Korean government based the decision on a lack of accurate data from China and a possible resurgence. “The decrease in positive cases for entrants from China is an encouraging sign. But it is too early to reach a conclusion because it’s not been too long since the end of the Spring Festival,” said Jung Ki-seok, head of the Covid-19 Special Response Team. “I can re-review if the numbers for confirmed cases, serious patients and fatality rate in China can be specified.”

He was not entirely wrong. But he did not explain why a PCR test is not enough for short-term visas and why the visa restriction should be extended. China responded to the extension more strongly than before. It imposed a PCR test exclusively for entrants from Korea from February 1. In January, Korea could cite the serious level of infection in China, but Korea could hardly do so in February. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo appeared to step back. After the Chinese foreign ministry said such measures do not help either country, the prime minister replied, “I will review a lifting of restrictions on short-term visas before February 28 if we judge we can handle it.”

Korean companies in China are showing a cold reaction to Han’s proposal. After pushing back all necessary business schedules, they are only waiting for the Korean government to lift the suspension on issuing short-term visas. The Chinese content market, which showed signs of opening its doors, has changed its stance and pressured their Korean counterparts to wait longer.

Last month, Korea’s exports to China dropped by 31.4 percent from the previous year. Korea does not need to keep up with China. It only needs to focus on national interests. Is the visa suspension a gain or loss for Korea?