TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China is trying to bring South Korea under its influence, a Taiwanese national security official said recently.

China’s military exercise around Taiwan last week failed to create fear and divide Taiwanese society, so it is looking for the next potential weak point, the official said, per CNA. Beijing quickly welcomed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who is slated to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday. The South Korean foreign ministry had called for peaceful dialogue and cooperation to resolve cross-strait tensions in response to China’s drills.

China wants to use the meeting with Lee to keep Seoul close and it will characterize engagement with South Korea as between “strategic partners,” the official said, to weaken the US–Japan–South Korea alliance.

Beijing may use bilateral talks to ensure South Korea reaffirms adherence to the “one China” principle; refuses deployment of Typhon missile system; opposes any expansion of United States Forces Korea, and forbids products related to US defense-industrial cooperation from being used in the Indo-Pacific.

The official assessed that China may offer incentives such as formally lifting sanctions previously imposed on a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, repealing a ban on South Korean entertainers performing in China, and allowing more Chinese tourists to visit South Korea. Beijing may also pledge to help facilitate dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, they said.