{"id":50294,"date":"2025-10-30T06:32:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T06:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/?p=50294"},"modified":"2025-10-30T06:32:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T06:32:41","slug":"no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Protesters gathered in Seoul ahead of Trump’s arrival on Wednesday<\/p>\n

Cries of \u201cNo Trump!\u201d echoed through downtown Seoul on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters marched toward the U.S. embassy, their chants growing louder against a wall of police buses blocking the way.<\/p>\n

Just a few hundred metres north, another crowd gathered near Gyeongbokgung Palace \u2014 this time shouting \u201cNo China!\u201d and \u201cCCP out!\u201d. The simultaneous protests, though modest by South Korea\u2019s spirited standards, captured the stark reality of a nation caught between two competing giants.<\/p>\n

As U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive in Seoul this week, President Lee Jae Myung faces one of his most delicate diplomatic balancing acts yet \u2014 hosting both rivals on his home turf.<\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s ties with Washington run deep, forged \u201cin blood\u201d during the Korean War (1950\u20131953), when American troops defended the South against Northern invasion. Yet its economic lifeline runs through Beijing, its largest trading partner and crucial export market.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a particularly fraught moment \u2014 South Korea is caught between a rock and a hard place,\u201d said Darcie Draudt-Vejares of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. \u201cYear after year, it epitomises the dilemma of countries that are economically intertwined with both China and the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

That tension is on full display as Seoul hosts Trump and Xi for direct talks on Thursday \u2014 a rare opportunity that could determine whether their on-again, off-again trade war takes a new turn toward d\u00e9tente or deeper division.<\/p>\n

For South Korea, the protests outside may just foreshadow the tightrope its president must walk inside the negotiating room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Protesters gathered in Seoul ahead of Trump’s arrival on Wednesday Cries of \u201cNo Trump!\u201d echoed through downtown Seoul on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters marched toward the U.S. embassy, their chants growing louder against a wall of police buses blocking the way. Just a few hundred metres north, another crowd gathered near Gyeongbokgung Palace \u2014 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-asia"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul - South Asian Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul - South Asian Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Protesters gathered in Seoul ahead of Trump’s arrival on Wednesday Cries of \u201cNo Trump!\u201d echoed through downtown Seoul on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters marched toward the U.S. embassy, their chants growing louder against a wall of police buses blocking the way. Just a few hundred metres north, another crowd gathered near Gyeongbokgung Palace \u2014 …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Asian Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-30T06:32:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nasir Abbas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nasir Abbas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nasir Abbas\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-30T06:32:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\"},\"wordCount\":282,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/No-Trump.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"South Asia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\",\"name\":\"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul - South Asian Wire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/No-Trump.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-30T06:32:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/No-Trump.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/No-Trump.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/\",\"name\":\"South Asian Wire\",\"description\":\"Journalism from South Asian Perspective\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d\",\"name\":\"Nasir Abbas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nasir Abbas\"},\"description\":\"Nasir Abbas, having vast experience of journalism, working as editor with SAW\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/connectpakistan.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/author\\\/nasir\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul - South Asian Wire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul - South Asian Wire","og_description":"Protesters gathered in Seoul ahead of Trump’s arrival on Wednesday Cries of \u201cNo Trump!\u201d echoed through downtown Seoul on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters marched toward the U.S. embassy, their chants growing louder against a wall of police buses blocking the way. Just a few hundred metres north, another crowd gathered near Gyeongbokgung Palace \u2014 …","og_url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul","og_site_name":"South Asian Wire","article_published_time":"2025-10-30T06:32:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nasir Abbas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nasir Abbas","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul"},"author":{"name":"Nasir Abbas","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#\/schema\/person\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d"},"headline":"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul","datePublished":"2025-10-30T06:32:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul"},"wordCount":282,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg","articleSection":["South Asia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul","url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul","name":"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul - South Asian Wire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-30T06:32:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#\/schema\/person\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/no-trump-no-china-south-korea-walks-a-tightrope-as-rival-superpowers-arrive-in-seoul#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018No Trump! No China!\u2019 \u2014 South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/","name":"South Asian Wire","description":"Journalism from South Asian Perspective","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#\/schema\/person\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d","name":"Nasir Abbas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nasir Abbas"},"description":"Nasir Abbas, having vast experience of journalism, working as editor with SAW","sameAs":["http:\/\/connectpakistan.org"],"url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/author\/nasir"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/10\/No-Trump.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50296,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50294\/revisions\/50296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}