This is an editorial from the Korea JoongAng Daily. In a remarkable turn, President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday said, "For South Korea, the United States and China are not countries for us to choose between," stressing the importance of close cooperation with the two countries. The comment came during his interview with a local media outlet on his visit to Brazil to attend the G20 summit there. Yoon's rhetoric suggests a dramatic shift in his perception of diplomatic and security interests. The president concentrated on reinforcing the alliance with Uncle Sam during the first half of his fiver-year term. President Yoon has been devoted to bolstering security cooperation with the United States and Japan since the normalization of the Seoul-Tokyo relations in March. In the process, Yoon was under fire for triggering unnecessary conflicts with China and Russia. Yoon may have changed his stance after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two years on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru last Friday. In that summit, Yoon requested Xi to play a constructive role in the close military ties between North Korea and Russia, as clearly seen in the North's dispatch of its troops to Russia. In reaction, Xi expressed hopes for eased tensions in the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders reportedly had friendly talks after putting their uncomfortable feelings behind them. Diplomatic circles share the view that China certainly felt uneasy about the tight military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow as it goes against China's strategic interests. Fortunately, China offered a breakthrough in the icy relations between Seoul and Beijing by sending its premier to the Korea-Japan-China summit in Seoul in May. Recently, South Korea and China also replaced their ambassadors to each country to help refresh their relations. Both Korea and China will hardly be able to avoid the upcoming storms - the America First tenet, the isolationist path and the obvious tariff war under the second Trump administration. Korea and China compete with one another, but there are many areas for cooperation, such as the North Korean nuclear threat, security and chips. If Yoon chooses to prioritize practical interests over ideology in his foreign policy, that will have a positive effect on both sides. But considering all the uncertainties under Trump 2.0, President Yoon needs to moderate the speed of getting along with China. Former president Park Geun-hye watched the Chinese military parade in the Tiananmen Square, but received a relentless retaliation for her administration's decision to deploy the Thaad anti-missile system. Former president Moon Jae-in even admired China for "being a big country," yet had to eat a meal on his own, repeatedly. Yoon must not replay such mishaps.