I just wonder how this will evolve. I don't think China is in a hurry to repair the relationship. Meanwhile S Korea economy is booming because of the demand of technology, reversing or at least slowing the trend that China is replacing S Korea tech goods. So S Korea also not in a hurry to repair the relationship with China.
I have a feeling that the US will try to use S Korea, and Taiwan to compete and maybe even replace China as the center of tech manufacturing, at least when it come to exporting tech goods to the US. S Korea tech giants have revived themselves into a serious competitor to the rising Chinese brands. The battle will be fought over global market, especially in South East Asia and Europe. I'm not sure China can count on S Korea tech companies to break the embargo that the US put on Chinese tech companies. If S Korea can't help Chinese companies, then letting them to do business in China may only strenghten their giants like Samsung and LG, at the cost of Chinese companies like Xiaomi, TCL, CATL etc. I used to be pro trade and open market, but the geopolitical situation today seem not conducive to be open like a fool. China need to prioritize its own companies first before foreign ones. At this point, it is better for China to focus on emerging markets like South East Asia, Africa and Latin America. China should open its market to them in return for them to also open their market to China. I wouldn't mind if China have a trade deficit with them too as long as they accept yuan as trade settlement currency. It is time to emulate the yanks.