President Lee Jae Myung visits Beijing seeking stronger economic ties and China’s help with North Korea, while carefully navigating Taiwan tensions
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung heads to China on Sunday, aiming to strengthen economic cooperation with Seoul’s largest trading partner while avoiding contentious issues like Taiwan.
This four-day visit is the first by a South Korean leader to Beijing in six years, following recent large-scale Chinese military drills around Taiwan.
Seoul notably refrained from joining international condemnation of those exercises.
Accompanied by a delegation of business and tech leaders, Lee hopes to expand economic ties in meetings with President Xi Jinping and other senior officials.
He also aims to enlist China’s influence over North Korea to support his efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang.
Hours before Lee’s departure, Seoul’s military reported North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, its first test of the year.
South Korea has long balanced relations with its top trading partner, China, and its chief defence ally, the United States.
“China views South Korea as the weakest link at a time when trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan is strengthening,” said Professor Kang Jun-young of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
Lee has avoided taking sides in recent tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan.
“Taking sides only worsens tensions,” he told journalists last month.
He has consistently dodged questions about potential South Korean intervention in a Taiwan conflict.
In a Friday interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Lee said he “clearly affirms” that “respecting the ‘one-China’ principle and maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia, including in the Taiwan Strait, are very important”.
On economics, Lee advocates for “more horizontal and mutually beneficial” trade between the two nations.
His delegation includes executives from major firms like Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group, alongside figures from entertainment and gaming.
A summit with Xi is planned for Monday, followed by trade talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.
Lee will later travel to Shanghai to attend a startup summit and visit a historic Korean government-in-exile site.
Xi and Lee last met in November on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea.
The South Korean president will seek China’s support for rekindling ties with North Korea.
Officials also hope the visit will lead China to ease an unofficial ban on South Korean pop culture imports.
“China’s official position is that there is no such thing as a ban on Korean content, but from our perspective the situation looks somewhat different,” said presidential adviser Wi Sung-lac.
