Lee calls China an 'important partner' for Korean Peninsula peace, promises new ‘starting point’ in bilateral ties
Published: 04 Jan. 2026, 23:26
Updated: 05 Jan. 2026, 19:00
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, center right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, center left, salute the flag during a dinner event with Korean residents in Beijing on Jan. 4, kicking off a four-day state visit to China. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/05/b967718b-e4e7-4700-9cf1-ca75fc8293e2.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, center right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, center left, salute the flag during a dinner event with Korean residents in Beijing on Jan. 4, kicking off a four-day state visit to China. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
"I hope this visit marks a new starting point for South Korea-China relations, where we can address existing shortcomings, restore normalcy and move forward toward deeper and broader bilateral relations," Lee said as he attended a dinner event for the Korean community in China at a hotel in Beijing.
Lee emphasized China's role in resolving the peace issue on the Korean Peninsula, noting that the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing was also the venue for the now-defunct six-party talks, which were held to discuss North Korea's denuclearization.
The six-party talks involved the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia. The last meeting among all its members took place in Beijing in 2008, when North Korea walked out of the negotiations.
Earlier Sunday, Lee began a four-day state visit to China and is scheduled to hold a second summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.
Lee recalled his summit with Xi on Nov. 1 on the margins of the APEC gathering in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. He highlighted that Xi's state visit to South Korea was the Chinese president's first trip to Korea in 11 years. Lee's China trip is the first state visit by a South Korean president in nine years.
Former President Moon Jae-in made a state visit to China in 2017. Moon later visited China in December 2019.
Lee said that during his summit with Xi, the two leaders "pledged to substantially restore our strategic cooperative partnership and develop it into a more mature relationship."
Lee noted that it is also "unprecedented that the leaders of South Korea and China have reciprocated state visits in just two months."
![President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, receive bouquets from children at a dinner event with Korean residents in Beijing on Jan. 4, kicking off a four-day state visit to China. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/05/34bba812-95b3-442b-80a3-63ec2d95e9cd.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, receive bouquets from children at a dinner event with Korean residents in Beijing on Jan. 4, kicking off a four-day state visit to China. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
"China is competing with us in the global market, but there are also endless areas for future cooperation, such as renewable energy, biotechnology and the silver industry," Lee said.
He also said there has been "tremendous progress" regarding worries about fine dust and particulate matter coming from China.
Lee noted that "during the difficult times in Korea-China relations, overseas Koreans here must have experienced many hardships" and acknowledged the "damage must have been significant."
He said that following the "diplomatic vacuum" resulting from his predecessor's illegal martial law imposition and ouster, he has worked toward South Korea's "return to the international community and has been accelerating the normalization of diplomatic relations." He cited among his most outstanding diplomatic achievements since taking office in June last year "the full restoration of long-deteriorated South Korea-China relations."
Lee recalled visiting Beijing as the mayor of Seongnam and now returning as president.
He said his state visit "will serve as a crucial milestone, building on the past 30 years of diplomatic relations and charting the next 30 years for our two countries."
He told the Korean community that to "further develop our bilateral relationship, your experience, wisdom, and advice, gained through daily interactions with the Chinese people, will be crucial."
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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