Lee's state visit to China to focus on economy, culture and peace on the Korean Peninsula
Published: 02 Jan. 2026, 15:56
Updated: 02 Jan. 2026, 23:56
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, center, speaks at a press conference on the details of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Blue House in central Seoul on Jan. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/01/02/b1adffff-2654-4849-8716-f9e626a7a435.jpg)
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, center, speaks at a press conference on the details of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Blue House in central Seoul on Jan. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week will cover issues related to people's livelihoods and resolving the North Korea denuclearization issue, as well as progressing cultural ties, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Friday.
"People's livelihoods and peace cannot be separated," Wi said in a press briefing at the Blue House in central Seoul on the details of the state visit. "Our countries share the common goal of bringing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. To ensure that the full restoration of bilateral relations contributes to a breakthrough in resolving the Korean Peninsula issue, we will strengthen strategic communication and urge China to play a constructive role in this matter."
Lee will begin a four-day state visit to China on Sunday, which will take him to Beijing for his second summit with Xi on Monday. He is set to discuss issues including denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and economic cooperation, and will move later in the week to Shanghai to focus on shared historical bonds.
The two sides are also expected to seek ways to progress cultural issues, such as the easing of China's unofficial restrictions on Hallyu, or the Korean Wave.
China took the retaliatory measures on South Korea's entertainment and tourism industries after Seoul and Washington agreed on the deployment of the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system in Korea in 2016 and completed the installation the following year.
"While China's official position is that there is no such ban, we see the situation slightly differently," Wi said. "We will approach resolving the issue by expanding cultural exchanges and consensus."
Regarding reports of holding a K-pop concert in China to coincide with the visit, Wi said, "It seems unlikely that it will be held this time." He added, however, that these talks could open discussions for such an event to be held at a later date.
Wi said that the South Korean government "respects the 'One China' policy" when asked about the prospects of Beijing asking to clarify Seoul's stance on the Taiwan issue, especially amid increasing Sino-Japanese tensions over the matter.
"We have a consistent position on the Taiwan issue and will respond accordingly," he added.
Wi highlighted that Lee's trip "marks the first state visit of the year for both South Korea and China."
It also reciprocates Xi's state visit to South Korea for a summit with Lee on Nov. 1 on the margins of the APEC gathering in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang.
The two sides are also expected to discuss bilateral issues, such as China's installation of maritime structures in the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ), a jointly managed area in the Yellow Sea. Wi noted that the matter was previously discussed during Lee and Xi's first summit in Gyeongju, and that working-level consultations have continued since then.
He said the two sides plan to "continue to work to make progress based on the results of those consultations."
"The unprecedented two-month gap between the South Korean and Chinese leaders in making state visits to each other's countries and sharing the first summit of the new year is expected to open a new chapter in the development of South Korea-China relations," Wi said.
However, the two leaders are not expected to release a joint statement or document on measures following the bilateral summit, Wi said.
In an interview with China's state-run broadcaster CCTV which aired Friday night, President Lee likewise said, “Regarding the Taiwan issue, which is arguably China's most pressing concern, our position of respecting the 'One China' principle remains unchanged."
He stressed that the agreements reached between the South Korean and Chinese governments at the time of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China in 1992 “remain valid as the core standards defining South Korea-China relations."
Lee said that matter of maintaining “peace and stability in Northeast Asia, including the Taiwan Strait issue, is very important" and emphasized that the South Korean government is “not deviating” from the fundamental position establishing between South Korea and China when diplomatic relations were forged.
"Security cooperation with the United States is inevitable,” Lee said. “However, conflict with China will not serve South Korea's national interests at all. South Korea and China must vigorously pursue mutually beneficial solutions."
He added that, regarding the past notion that South Korea was aligned with the United States on security and with China economically, Seoul’s “strategic autonomy is crucial."
He added that Seoul and Beijing “should respect each other's national interests and try to understand each other's positions.”
![Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their bilateral summit at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 1, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/01/02/1df26b5a-f147-4618-bec1-01ef068de77b.jpg)
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their bilateral summit at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 1, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
On Monday, Lee and Xi will take part in an official welcoming ceremony, hold summit talks and attend a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding (MOU). Xi will later hold a state banquet for Lee.
Lee will also attend the Korea–China business forum, where he will engage with leading business figures from both countries and discuss ways to create new areas of economic cooperation based on the complementary strengths of the two economies in sectors such as manufacturing, consumer goods and services, Wi said.
During the trip, Lee is expected to be accompanied by a 200-member business delegation, including the heads of Korea's four major conglomerates — Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.
On Tuesday, Lee will meet Premier Li Qiang for a luncheon meeting and discuss developing a new model of economic cooperation. He will also meet with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, the equivalent to the National Assembly speaker, to discuss ways to enhance goodwill and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.
Lee will head to Shanghai, China's economic hub, later on Tuesday to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Korean independence activist Kim Koo, who served as the first head of the Korean provisional government in exile in Shanghai during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
During the trip, Lee will visit the main provisional government building in Shanghai, which served as the government's headquarters from 1926 to 1932, marking its 100th anniversary.
![Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center right, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, at a commemorative photo session for the APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 1, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/01/02/23bb641a-2cb5-465f-b373-8dca455124bd.jpg)
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center right, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, at a commemorative photo session for the APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 1, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
On Wednesday, Lee will take part in a Korea–China venture and startup summit and meet with young entrepreneurs in digital technologies from both countries.
"Building on the APEC talks in Gyeongju, where the two leaders agreed to fully restore Korea-China relations, they will engage in in-depth discussions on practical solutions to address the livelihood and peace issues facing both countries," Wi said.
The two leaders are expected to discuss "win-win" cooperation to expand mutual benefits in areas directly related to people's livelihoods, including supply chain investment, the digital economy, startups, environment, climate change, people-to-people exchanges, tourism and response to transnational crime, Wi said.
He said that by "pursuing horizontal, mutually beneficial cooperation in line with the changing structure of Korea-China economic cooperation, we will achieve concrete, tangible results that will allow the peoples of both countries to tangibly experience the restoration of comprehensive relations."
Update, Jan. 2: Added Lee's interview with CCTV.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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