4-day state visit marks Lee's first trip to China since taking office in June 2025
Berk Kutay Gokmen |04.01.2026 - TRT/AA
ISTANBUL
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Beijing on Sunday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to visuals shared by Chinese state media.
The four-day state visit marks Lee's first to China since taking office in June 2025, and also the first trip by a South Korean president to the country since 2019.
Lee will hold talks with Xi on Monday, marking their second meeting in just two months, following their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in early November, when Xi visited South Korea for the first time in 11 years.
In his meeting with Xi, Lee is expected to discuss economic cooperation and peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula and would seek Beijing’s involvement in securing a breakthrough in resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula, according to Yonhap news agency.
South Korea aims to stably manage its relations with China, a key partner in trade, tourism and peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula while also maintaining a strong alliance with the US under the Lee administration's "pragmatic" diplomatic approach.
Lee’s visit to China coincided with ballistic missile launches by North Korea, China’s ally, on Sunday. It was Pyongyang’s first ballistic missile launch since November.
Accompanied by a large business delegation, Lee will also attend a Korea-China economic forum in Beijing on Monday to discuss expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, green energy, supply chains and tourism, among other areas.
The two sides are expected to sign more than 10 memorandums of understanding for cooperation in various areas, according to his office.
Lee will meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, China’s top legislator, before heading to Shanghai on Tuesday. There, he plans to attend a startup event with Korean and Chinese entrepreneurs before returning home on Wednesday.
On Friday, Lee told China's state broadcaster CCTV News in an interview that “respecting the one-China principle and maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia, including in the Taiwan Strait, are very important.”
China and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations in1992. The trade volume between the two countries reached $267.6 billion in 2024.
Separately, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin also arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a five-day official visit to meet Xi and Li, according to CGTN, which marked the first visit by an Irish premier in 14 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment