The commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties by China and the Republic of Korea on Wednesday sent an inspiring message that they have a shared enthusiasm to shore up their relations.
Fine relations featuring mutual trust and respect, as envisioned in the congratulatory messages the Chinese and ROK leaders exchanged, would be a gift from the other that both countries would welcome.
Whether they can unwrap such a gift, however, rests on the two governments' capabilities to learn from the past and adopt a rational outlook on each other, something that is essential for all resilient state-to-state relationships.
In his letter to ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol, President Xi Jinping said one reason for the two countries to have seen a thriving relationship since the establishment of diplomatic ties was that they were able to take care of each other's core interests and significant concerns, and cultivate understanding and trust through sincere communication.
Observing that the two countries' partnership of strategic cooperation has seen the annual bilateral trade grow nearly by 50 times and personnel exchanges increase by dozens of times over the past three decades, the ROK president pledged to push forward substantive cooperation in such areas as economic security, particularly with regard to supply chains.
Premier Li Keqiang and ROK Prime Minister Han Duck-soo highlighted similar commitments in their exchange of congratulations the same day.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, increasing outside involvement in Asia-Pacific affairs has threatened to sow seeds of distrust among countries in the region and trigger divisions and confrontations. The recent unease in China-ROK relations, too, is an outcome of external interference.
Relations between the two countries have been generally fine over the past three decades thanks to thriving trade, personnel exchanges, and historically close cultural links. From Beijing's perspective, there is nothing in the region that countries in the region cannot resolve all on their own, and third-party intervention only makes things worse.
With China playing a constructive role in settling the Korean Peninsula issue, the ROK's deployment of the United States' Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system has little to do with the actual security landscape, and more to do with Seoul acquiescing to Washington's demands.
The stakes are simply too high for both countries to ruin this otherwise prosperous relationship. China is the ROK's largest export market, and the volume of bilateral trade is larger than the ROK's trade with Japan and the US combined. Meanwhile, ROK businesses have been mass employers and important technology partners in China.
The ROK-US alliance doesn't have to be incompatible with fine China-ROK relations. As President Xi said in his message, the precious experience of the past 30 years should be cherished and the two countries should commit to being "good neighbors, good friends, and good partners".