The Business Times
business-time-50

Seoul’s geopolitical tightrope walk

South Korea is seeking to win US and Chinese hearts and minds, while pivoting to other markets, including Asean

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
阅读简体中文版 (beta)
    • China's President Xi Jinping (left) and South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung (second from left) exchanging gifts at a meeting on the sidelines of the Apec summit. While Seoul has long been a security ally of Washington, it increasingly finds itself in a diplomatic balancing act with Beijing, given the latter’s growing influence in Asia and beyond.
    • China's President Xi Jinping (left) and South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung (second from left) exchanging gifts at a meeting on the sidelines of the Apec summit. While Seoul has long been a security ally of Washington, it increasingly finds itself in a diplomatic balancing act with Beijing, given the latter’s growing influence in Asia and beyond. PHOTO: AFP

    Andrew Hammond

    Published Wed, Nov 12, 2025 · 06:30 AM

    THE Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit held from Oct 31 to Nov 1 in Gyeongju saw around 20 nations attend. Yet, for the South Korean hosts, the big two that mattered the most were the US and China.

    While Seoul has long been a security ally of Washington, it increasingly finds itself in a diplomatic balancing act with Beijing given the latter’s growing influence in Asia and beyond.

    This was shown at the recent summit, where South Korea skilfully positioned itself as a leader advancing economic integration and resilience across the region.

    South KoreaApec SummitGeopolitics

    TRENDING NOW

    Singapore’s next chapter should not be framed as a choice between economic growth and social well-being. We need both.

    Singapore at 61: How we can ensure opportunity, security and ownership for the next generation

    Clockwise from top left: The founders of ImmunoQs, AI Seer and DancingMind. All three startups are based at JTC Corp’s LaunchPad @ one-north.

    With tech for fact-checking to cancer care, Singapore startups aim beyond home 

    The Vietnamese economy has long relied heavily on bank lending, straining commercial banks as they shoulder the bulk of the financing needed by companies and large infrastructure projects.

    Vietnam seeks US$76 billion a year from capital markets to ease reliance on banks

    BYD’s rise to become the No 1 passenger-car seller in Singapore can be described as explosive. 

    How BYD disrupted Singapore’s car market – and why the strategy is turning on itself

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More