ROK makes right moves for reconciliation

Relations between China and the Republic of Korea suffered after Park Geun-hye, the impeached and ousted ROK president, allowed the United States to deploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system on ROK soil while ignoring Beijing's repeated protests. The decision not only undermined China-ROK ties but also hurt bilateral exchanges - data show the number of Chinese tourists visiting Jeju island this year has dropped by 90 percent compared with 2016.

The unfortunate development, however, is an opportunity for nongovernmental think tanks of both countries to combine their forces and find ways to propel bilateral ties forward.

China fully understands the ROK's need to boost its security, but it remains debatable whether THAAD is the right choice for that. If both sides pay too much attention to THAAD, it might cause a Matthew Effect, an allegorical term which means an observation by an eminent personality will get most of the attention for a discovery or an idea, and the real issue at stake will be ignored.