A Chinese expert voiced hope Tuesday that South Korean President Park Geun-hye will visit Beijing early next month to attend events marking the end of World War II, claiming that it could help ensure regional stability.

Wang Junsheng, an associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also suggested that Park could skip a scheduled military parade, which could highlight a rivalry between China and Japan, during her possible visit to Beijing.

Most Western leaders are unlikely to attend the Sept. 3 ceremony hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping because the military parade could send the wrong signal at a time when China is increasingly assertive in its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

"As one of the few ROK leaders who knows the Chinese language and understands Chinese culture, Park has been pushing for the betterment of bilateral ties since taking office two years ago," Wang said in an op-ed piece published by the state-run China Daily newspaper.

"Even if she does not attend the Sept. 3 parade, Park's visit to Beijing will be of great importance to regional stability, because if Beijing and Seoul cooperate more closely, Tokyo's neighborhood diplomacy may hardly work. Pyongyang may abandon its rhetoric and act with reason," Wang said.

The comments by Wang suggested that Park may not attend the morning parade, but attend the afternoon reception on Sept. 3.

Park could make a decision on whether to attend China's celebrations as early as later this week, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters.

South Korean diplomats in Beijing have said that Seoul feels awkward about accepting the Chinese invitation for the military parade because of a rivalry between China and Japan amid Beijing's increasingly assertive actions in territorial disputes with its neighbors.

Another embarrassing point is that the military parade will be staged at Tiananmen Square, where the Chinese Communist Party crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in a bloody crackdown in 1989, the diplomats said.

South Korea and China are former battlefield foes as China fought alongside North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War, while the United States and 20 other allied countries fought on South Korea's side under the U.N. flag. (Yonhap)