South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called for a “new phase” in ties with China during Monday’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing. His four-day trip emphasises regional security and lifting Beijing’s curbs on Korean pop culture. Lee meets Premier Li Qiang and parliament chairman Zhao Leji on Tuesday.
It is the first such presidential visit since 2019, after ties soured under impeached ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol’s criticisms of China.
Xi seeks to bolster relations amid rows with Japan. South Korea, a U.S. ally, depends on China for over 20% of exports worth £150 billion yearly.
The leaders last met in November. Lee called the trip “a crucial opportunity” for the “full-scale restoration of South Korea-China relations,” Chosun Ilbo reported. “We want to usher in a new phase in the development of South Korea-China relations.”
They signed pacts on tech, trade and environment. Lee took selfies with Xi using a gifted Xiaomi phone. “The image quality is certainly good, right?” he posted on X.
Xi said the “international situation is becoming more turbulent and complex” and urged Lee to “firmly stand on the right side of history and make correct strategic choices,” Xinhua reported, post-U.S. arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
Xi invoked anti-Japanese history, saying both nations should “work hand in hand to safeguard the outcomes of the victory of World War Two and uphold peace and stability in Northeast Asia.”
Yongin University’s Park Seung-chan told the BBC, “China may beat around the bush but its demand is clear: side with China and denounce Japan.”
Talks addressed North Korea’s recent missile tests. Lee seeks Beijing’s aid on denuclearisation and pledged “viable alternatives for peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
They agreed “constructive” dialogue on sea disputes and cultural exchanges to ease K-pop bans, imposed since 2016 over U.S. missile defences.
To Korean expats Sunday, Lee said it would “serve as a new starting point to fill in the gaps in Korea-China relations, restore them to normal and upgrade them to a new level.”