China Expands First Foreign Frontline Military Channel with U.S. Ally South Korea

China has expanded upon its first-ever frontline military hotline with a foreign force, South Korea, a U.S. ally wedged between the geopolitical rivalry of Washington and Beijing. While nearly 30,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and a number of security agreements ensure the U.S.' spot as top security partner, China is by far the country's number one trading partner. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has appealed to both President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping for support in achieving peace with nuclear-armed North Korea. About a month later, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke via telephone with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong to mark what the former called "The first year" of "Cultural exchanges" between the two "Strategic partners." The two also specifically discussed the Korean Peninsula, which Wang said is "Crucial for respective interests of China and the ROK," an acronym for the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea. Days later, the Biden administration held a trilateral meeting with South Korea and fellow U.S. ally Japan in order "To exchange views on shared North Korea-related challenges," according to a State Department readout. Despite both being allies of Washington, tensions exist between Seoul and Tokyo as a result of historic wounds that remain unhealed from Japan's use of South Korean so-called "Comfort women" for sexual favors during World War II, as well as other forced labor practices employed during the war by the Japanese for which South Korea still seeks reparations.