This article is by Seo Ji-eun and read by an artificial voice.

Chinese Ambassador Dai Bing and Japanese Ambassador Koichi Mizushima appeared side by side at a diplomacy forum in southern Seoul on Tuesday amid heightened tensions over the Taiwan Strait - offering divergent visions of the regional order while both diplomats avoided any direct mention of Taiwan.

Dai warned that "some countries persisted in a Cold War mentality, form exclusive small groups and apply international rules selectively," contributing to "renewed geopolitical rivalry and block confrontations," as he spoke as a panelist at the annual Seoul Diplomacy Forum, hosted by the Korea's Foreign Ministry think tank Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) at its headquarters in Seocho District.

Without naming the United States, he criticized rising protectionism and global fragmentation, saying "certain countries impose unilateral tariffs and erect artificial barriers," and that "traditional technological powers attempted to maintain their advantages through various means even at the cost of setting pressure and limits upon other countries."

Dai said he is "a little bit cautiously positive" for the bilateral relations of Washington and Beijing.

But he added a warning that if China's development is a "challenge to the world" and a "threat to some country," China has "no choice" and "must defend our core interests and our dignity."

"I have to say that we do not want any kind of tariff war, trade war [or] technology war because there's no winner among the wars between us," Dai said. "So our policy is clear: if you launch the war, we will follow accordingly. But if you want to negotiate, our door is open - but such a negotiation is based on equality and mutual respect."

Turning to Korea, Dai delivered what amounted to a pitch for Seoul to maintain a balanced posture amid U.S.-China rivalry, saying that China believes Korea is "fully capable of developing sound relations with both China and the United States in parallel."

The forum opened with a high-profile session on the theme of "Korea's Pragmatic Diplomacy in a Changing World," also attended by diplomats, Korean government officials and scholars.

Neither Dai nor Mizushima mentioned Taiwan directly during the session - and both ambassadors declined to answer related questions from reporters afterward. However, their joint appearance on the same panel in Seoul carried symbolic weight given deteriorating China-Japan relations over the Taiwan Strait in recent days, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly raised the possibility of Japanese involvement in a Taiwan contingency, prompting a sharp backlash from Beijing.

Mizushima offered a contrasting message on regional security and the international order, grounding Japan's foreign-policy worldview firmly in alliances and norms in contrast to Dai's critique of "exclusive small groups."

"It is crucial to build and expand a multi-layered network of alliances and like-minded partners," he said, citing frameworks such as Korea-U.S.-Japan and the Quad.

On Korea-Japan ties, Mizushima highlighted the revival of shuttle diplomacy, including President Lee Jae Myung's first bilateral visit to Japan.

He noted that Seoul expanded the "horizons of diplomacy" to other areas, including Central Asia and Africa, describing a "welcoming mood" in Korean diplomacy.

The two ambassadors also diverged on North Korea.

Dai emphasized Beijing's longstanding role, noting China's "strong historic ties with North Korea" and "common interests with South Korea on stability [and] peace in the peninsula."

Mizushima, by contrast, called the North "an imminent threat to our region as well as to Japan" and stressed that "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula [...] should be achieved." He thanked Korea for supporting Japan's policy priorities, including the abduction issue.

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