China - bans imports of 19 Korean cosmetics products in December: Yonhap: ARIRANG NEWS

ARIRANG NEWS

Published on 7 Feb 2017

중국, 12월에도 한국산 화장품 대거 불허... 식품도 포함

While Seoul and Washington remain firm on their plan to deploy the U.S. missile defense system THAAD to South Korea,... China appears to be showing more signs of discontent. In fact, today, Beijing openly said it's also against the possible deployment of U.S. stealth destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, in South Korea's southernmost island of Jeju. 

It's not just rhetoric... today, we're learning of more South Korean cosmetic products being rejected entry into the Chinese market. 

Oh Jung-hee reports. 

As they did in November,... Chinese authorities banned the import of Korean cosmetics again in December.
According to a list posted on the website of China's quarantine and quality inspection agency on Monday,... 19 Korean cosmetics products were banned,... citing poor quality.

That accounts for almost 30-percent of the total number of banned cosmetics products in China.
The rejected products range from skin lotions and cleansers to makeup base,... all of which enjoy great popularity in the Chinese market.

Also rejected were over 20 tons of Korean food products,... including ramyeon, or instant noodles, snacks and rice.

The import bans revealed on Monday are in addition to restrictions already in place in December for not only cosmetics... but for bidets and air purifiers, all for supposed issues with quality and safety.

The bans are widely seen as relatiation by Beijing for Seoul's decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to the peninsula, which it's expressed through written and verbal statements, and through tightened restrictions on Korean businesses. "Though they say import bans are not related to the deployment of THAAD,... I personally think China has already started to retaliate. THAAD is directly connected to China's core national interest, so China wants to delay it and talk it over with Korea's next administration. But with Seoul's defense and foreign ministries standing firm,... China sees no choice but stronger retaliatory measures."

In response to China's opposition,... experts say Korea should keep communication lines open with the Chinese authorities to prevent an unnecessarily heated dispute. "China doesn't want to hurt its economic ties with Korea, either. So Korea has to keep the dialogue going on the diplomatic front and prevent the THAAD issue from becoming a major source of conflict,... while stressing that THAAD deployment is crucial for Korea's national security and interest."

Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.