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Yearender: How Korea-China ties stabilized in 2025

Published: 31 Dec. 2025, 00:04

Zhang Can

The author is an English-language correspondent with Xinhua News Agency. She is currently based at the Seoul Bureau.

After an interval of 11 years, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Korea at the invitation of Korean President Lee Jae Myung in late autumn, a trip widely seen as a key moment in revitalizing bilateral ties.

After attending the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in the historic city of Gyeongju, the two leaders exchanged views in-depth in a friendly atmosphere and reached a series of important agreements on cooperation, including the reaffirmation of the China-Korea strategic cooperative partnership.

Citizens visit the ″Korea-China friendship forest″ park in Gyeongju on Oct. 17. [XINHUA/YAO QILIN]

Observers said the visit provided important guidance for stabilizing and revitalizing China-Korea relations, providing strong momentum for practical cooperation and laying a solid foundation for the future.

SOLID GROUND
The high-level communication between China and Korea this year will serve to open new chapters in the countries' collaboration.

During Xi's state visit, the Korean side extended high-level hospitality. A welcoming ceremony for Xi took place at the Gyeongju National Museum, a venue rich in local cultural heritage, where the honor guard in traditional attire lined the route, escorting the Chinese leader to the venue for talks with Lee.

During his talks with Lee, Xi said China and Korea are important neighbors that cannot be distanced from each other, and cooperation partners that cannot be separated. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 33 years ago, he noted that the two countries have actively advanced exchanges and cooperation across the board, and achieved mutual success and common prosperity.

Lee underscored the great significance of Xi's state visit. He said Korea attaches great importance to its relationship with China and stands ready to work with China to further advance the friendly and cooperative partnership between the two countries.

The positive momentum had already been building earlier this year when Xi held a telephone conversation with Lee in June, stressing that a sound, stable and ever-deepening China-Korea relationship serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples and contributes to regional and global peace, stability, development and prosperity.

This photo taken on Nov. 7 shows autumn scenery at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. [XINHUA/YAO QILIN]

While bilateral ties have faced challenges in recent years, observers noted that, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Korea relations stabilized in 2025.

Hwang Jae-ho, director of the Institute for Global Strategy and Cooperation, said that head-of-state diplomacy has provided clear direction for cooperation, enabling the two countries to transcend institutional differences and advance common development based on mutual respect and benefit.

Korean Ambassador to China Ro Jae-hun said Xi's successful state visit marked a new chapter in bilateral relations, adding that exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have strengthened mutual trust and laid a solid foundation for regional stability and prosperity.

EXPANDING COOPERATION
China and Korea already enjoy close geographic, cultural and economic ties. Recently, however, practical cooperation between China and Korea has also been expanding.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the first phase of the China-Korea FTA. According to China's General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade volume reached $298.9 billion during the January-November period this year.

China has remained Korea's largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while Korea has regained its position as China's second-largest trading partner.

During his state visit to South Korea, Xi said that China is willing to work with Korea based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, accelerate the second phase of negotiations on the China-Korea FTA and tap into the potential for collaboration in emerging fields such as AI, biopharmaceuticals, green industries and the silver economy.

A drone photo shows a cargo ship bound for Korea's Incheon Port at Qingdao Port in Qingdao, Shandong Province, on Oct. 29. [XINHUA/LI ZIHENG]

Choi Jae-duk, a professor at Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies, noted that the two countries have substantial complementary advantages in the digital economy and efforts to transition to a greener economy.

In Korea's South Chungcheong province, a biomass power project developed by CGN Energy International Co. Ltd. is a great example of how China and Korea have cooperated in green energy. With an installed capacity of 109 megawatts, the project is expected to generate about 764 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, saving roughly 310,000 tons of coal and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by around 760,000 tons.

This project supports Korea's renewable energy goals while underscoring the growing depth of China-Korea collaboration.

Amid the warming of relations between the countries, Korean beauty brands are once again eyeing China as a key market for long-term growth, with localization widely seen as essential for success in an increasingly competitive environment, Korean media recently reported.

Yoon Do-son, CEO of CJ China, said that upgrading China-Korea cooperation would benefit bilateral ties as well as both the regional and global economies.

DEEPENING PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE BONDS
People-to-people exchanges have become another highlight in the stabilization of China-Korea relations.

During Xi's visit, he urged the two sides to facilitate cross-border travel and encourage more exchanges among the youth, media and think tanks, as well as at the local level.

According to statistics from Korea's Ministry of Justice, bilateral personnel exchanges exceeded 6.65 million visits in the first 10 months of this year, up 24.5 percent year-on-year.

The surge in exchanges is clearly visible in the aviation and tourism sectors. Korean Air reported a sharp rise in passenger traffic on China routes so far this year, attributing the increase in part to China's visa-free policy for Korean citizens, with Beijing and Shanghai becoming popular weekend getaways.

Moreover, Korean youth are increasingly interested in learning more about China. Jang Su-seok, a social media influencer, has visited China more than 20 times this year. The visa-free policy is a crucial step toward enhancing mutual understanding, he said. “Once people can easily travel to China, many stereotypes will naturally fade away,” he added.

Tourists from Korea wearing Hanfu outfits take a selfie at Yuyuan Garden Mall in Shanghai on July 21. [XINHUA/ZHANG YUE]

From a wide range of cultural and educational programs to the rising popularity of “panda tourism,” people-to-people bonds have become more diverse and more substantive.

Qu Huan, president of the Korea-China Association for Cultural Exchange, described the countries' relationship in 2025 as a “rainbow after the rain” that reflects renewed confidence and shared expectations for the future.

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Dai Bing said that China and Korea are close neighbors with deep-rooted cultural ties and longstanding people-to-people bonds. He expressed his hope that cultural exchanges will continue to support the steady and long-term development of China-Korea ties.