Beijing, 05 January (H.S.): South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in Beijing Sunday for a four-day state visit—his first to China since assuming office last June and the first by any South Korean leader since 2019—poised to hold summit talks with President Xi Jinping on Monday, The Korea Times reported.
The discussions, coming nearly two months after their November encounter at the Gyeongju Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, will address North Korea tensions alongside bolstering economic ties and cultural exchanges, mere hours after Pyongyang launched unidentified ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
Pyongyang's Missile Volley Looms
Lee's itinerary—his maiden China trip post-inauguration—centers on soliciting Beijing's support to ease fraught Pyongyang relations and advance Korean Peninsula denuclearization, with National Security Adviser Wi Seong-lac anticipating over 10 memoranda of understanding across sectors ahead of the bilateral parley.
Preceding the summit, Lee will keynote the Korea-China Economic Forum attended by corporate titans including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, underscoring Seoul's economic stake in thawing ties amid 2025 trade volumes surpassing $300 billion.
'One China' Reaffirmed, Cultural Focus
Wi highlighted cultural exchanges as pivotal, alongside prospective sensitive issues; in a Friday CCTV interview, Lee reiterated Seoul's steadfast adherence to the One China policy respecting Beijing's Taiwan stance—critical amid Washington's Indo-Pacific pivot.
The visit signals Seoul's pragmatic outreach to its largest trading partner (25% of exports), navigating US alliance strictures while Pyongyang's provocations—over 30 missile tests in 2025—underscore China's leverage as North Korea's primary benefactor and UN sanctions enforcer.
The summit anticipates pacts on trade facilitation, 5G interoperability, tourism resumption, and joint ventures in semiconductors and renewables, as Lee maneuvers between Thucydides Trap dynamics and peninsular stability imperatives.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
