Somehow, when the Korean XD pair meets the Chinese pair, the former seems more asssured and confident of themselves. The Korean pair seems to understand each other better and therefore has the advantage and upper hand.
When Ra Kyun Min plays in the LD, she isn't that devastating. But with Kim Dong Moon in the XD, she guards the net so well that nothing seems to get by her and she is so sharp with her smashes and net play. Often she is the one who creates the opportunities for Kim to finish off the rallies with powerful smashes.
I somewhat sense a slight dip in Gao Ling's play during the recent Southeast Asian Opens. She and her partner, Huang Shi have lost twice to their compatriots, Yang Wei & Zhang Jiewen at the S'pore Open and the just concluded M'sian Open.
Has Gao been distracted lately because of Chen Hong? On the other hand, Chen has found fresh energy in their relationship to feature in all the three Finals and won two of them!
It would appear to me that Gao is currently the weaker link in the Chinese XD configuration.