This scene is more than a mere diplomatic event; it signals a shift in the global order that has persisted for centuries since the Industrial Revolution. Once, the center of the world was London, followed by New York and Washington, which became the hubs of finance, military, industry, and civilization. However, as we move toward the mid-21st century, the weight of the global economy and geopolitics is shifting back to Northeast Asia, the easternmost part of the Eurasian continent.
At the center of this shift is China. It is now the world's largest manufacturing country and exporter, as well as one of the largest importers of crude oil. China's influence is rapidly expanding across various sectors, including electric vehicles, batteries, rare earths, solar energy, drones, and AI infrastructure. The reason world leaders are flocking to Beijing is simple: it has become impossible to address supply chain, energy, market, and investment issues without considering China.
A key moment in Beijing's diplomacy this May was Putin's visit shortly after Trump's trip. The fact that the leaders of the two major military powers, the U.S. and Russia, visited China in quick succession symbolically illustrates the current changes in the international order.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is employing a complex diplomatic strategy, managing relations with the U.S. while competing, and closely aligning with Russia without becoming dependent. While engaging in a power struggle with the U.S. over tariffs, semiconductors, AI dominance, and Taiwan, he seeks to avoid a complete economic rupture. With Russia, he is expanding cooperation in energy, finance, and security to counter the U.S.-centric order.
This is the emergence of what is being called the 'New Beijing System.'
The war in Ukraine has accelerated this trend. Russia, having lost a significant portion of its European market due to Western sanctions, is rapidly shifting toward dependence on China. Russian oil and gas are being directed to China in large quantities, and the share of transactions in yuan is increasing rapidly. Notably, the 'Power of Siberia' gas pipeline project is not just an energy initiative; it symbolizes the formation of a new economic axis between Russia and China within the Eurasian continent.
However, this shift also reveals Russia's structural weaknesses. President Putin maintains the image of a strong leader, but the prolonged war in Ukraine is quickly depleting Russia's national power. Population decline, weakened industrial competitiveness, and international financial sanctions and technological blockades are gradually undermining the development of Russia's Far East. Regions like Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, and Sakhalin are becoming more closely aligned with the Northeast Asian economic sphere than with Europe.
In contrast, China's influence continues to grow. Chinese capital, logistics, consumer markets, and manufacturing supply chains are permeating various parts of the Russian Far East. Even if nominally Russian territory, many areas are already functioning as part of the Northeast Asian supply chain.
In effect, the Russian Far East is increasingly being absorbed into the periphery of the Northeast Asian economic sphere, rather than remaining a 'paper tiger' Russia.
The situation is similar in the Middle East. Countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are now looking to China as their largest customer. While the U.S. still exerts military influence over the Middle Eastern order, China is establishing new influence through its vast purchasing power. Particularly, amid tensions with the U.S., Iran is increasing its dependence on China for oil sales. Russia finds itself in a similar situation, having fewer markets for oil and gas, ultimately relying on China as a massive consumer market. This represents a significant change.
In the past, the U.S. controlled the global energy order with the dollar and aircraft carriers. Now, China is shaping geopolitics through its purchasing power. As the world's largest manufacturing country and consumer market, China has become a key player in the international order simply by being a major buyer of oil.
This is where the strategic value of South Korea and Japan comes back into focus. The only countries capable of creating an economic and technological axis that can stand up to China in Northeast Asia are South Korea and Japan. Japan still possesses world-class technology in materials, components, and equipment, along with financial competitiveness. South Korea boasts strengths in semiconductors, batteries, AI servers, shipbuilding, cultural industries, and advanced manufacturing.
If South Korea and Japan can strengthen strategic cooperation beyond historical conflicts, the situation could change. The U.S. strongly desires this, as it faces significant costs and burdens in countering China alone. If South Korea-Japan cooperation expands into supply chains, AI, aerospace, nuclear energy, defense, and bio-industries, there is ample potential for a new balance of power to emerge in Northeast Asia.
The AI era presents new opportunities for South Korea and Japan. While China pushes ahead with scale and speed, South Korea and Japan can respond with ultra-precision technology, AI semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and robotics. In a structure where the three Northeast Asian countries compete yet cooperate, the core stage of the world's advanced industries is increasingly shifting to the Pacific coast.
This is not a coincidence.
Before the Industrial Revolution, the center of the global economy was essentially Asia. China and India accounted for a significant portion of global GDP, and the Silk Road and maritime trade centered on Asia. However, after the British Industrial Revolution, global hegemony shifted to Europe and the U.S.
Now, that direction is changing again.
China is the world's largest manufacturing country. South Korea is the leading producer of high-quality semiconductor memory. Japan excels in precision manufacturing and robotics technology. Ultimately, the core axes of global industry, supply chains, AI, and semiconductors are converging back to the three Northeast Asian countries.
History does not flow in a straight line; it circulates in cycles. The global hegemony that shifted to the West after the Industrial Revolution is now returning to the East.
However, the reality is far from simple.
The U.S. remains the world's strongest military and financial power. China dominates manufacturing, supply chains, and consumer markets. Russia, though weakened, is still a military power with nuclear weapons and resources, while Europe maintains a massive technology and financial market despite stagnation.
In this context, South Korea can no longer survive solely through 'middle power diplomacy.'
South Korea must now recognize itself as a strategic nation with strengths in semiconductors, AI, batteries, shipbuilding, nuclear energy, and cultural industries. At the same time, it should expand cooperation in supply chains, defense, energy, and cultural sectors with third strategic nations like India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey.
India is poised to become the world's most populous country, Brazil is rich in resources and food, and Turkey serves as a geopolitical gateway connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pushing for new industrial transitions in AI, smart cities, hydrogen economies, and nuclear energy.
The world is now moving beyond a simple U.S.-China bipolar system to a multipolar system, with Northeast Asia at its center. Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing are likely to become the key stages for the future of the global economy, supply chains, and technological hegemony.
May 2026 in Beijing was heated by this massive flow.
And now the world is watching another potential scene: the possibility of President Xi Jinping visiting North Korea. Following the war in Ukraine, the closeness between North Korea and Russia is rapidly advancing, with discussions of military cooperation, arms trading, and technology exchanges. However, China will not allow North Korea to become too close to Russia.
For China, North Korea is not just a neighboring country; it is a strategic buffer zone adjacent to the U.S. alliance network and a key axis of Chinese influence in the Northeast Asian order.
Therefore, a future visit by President Xi to North Korea is likely to hold more significance than a mere friendly visit. It signals that China will not relinquish its leadership over the Korean Peninsula issue and may be a strategic move to draw the North Korean issue back into a China-centered order.
Ultimately, all the scenes unfolding in Beijing converge on one question.
What kind of order will the 21st century Asian era open under? And in this era of significant civilizational transformation, what kind of nation will South Korea become?
* This article has been translated by AI.
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