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President Lee to focus on economic and cultural cooperation, North Korea during state visit to China

Published: 04 Jan. 2026, 18:50

SARAH KIM
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President Lee Jae Myung, center left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, center right, walk down a red carpet upon arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Jan. 4, kicking off a four-day state visit to China. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

BEIJING — President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Beijing for a four-day state visit to China on Sunday, where he will focus on expanding economic and cultural cooperation, as well as on the North Korea issue, in a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung were greeted by Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun, Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Dai Bing and his wife, and South Korean Ambassador to China Ro Jae-hun, the son of former President Roh Tae-woo, at Beijing Capital International Airport.

This marks the first trip to China by a South Korean leader in six years. It is also the first state visit by a South Korean president to China since former President Moon Jae-in's visit in 2017. He later visited China in December 2019.

Science Minister Yin, a high-ranking member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, greeting Lee at the airport in a red carpet arrival is seen to demonstrate China's "commitment to solidifying the momentum of a full restoration of bilateral relations through its first state diplomatic event of the new year," the Blue House said in a statement.

The presidential couple departed from Seoul Air Base at around noon for the two-city trip, which will also take them to Shanghai.

Hours before the state visit, North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday morning.

Lee's trip comes upon the invitation of Xi after the Chinese president made a state visit to South Korea for a summit with Lee on Nov. 1 on the margins of the APEC gathering in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. It was Xi's first visit to South Korea in 11 years.

On Monday, Lee and Xi will hold a bilateral summit, including an official welcoming ceremony, the summit talks themselves, a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding (MOU) and a state banquet. The two sides are expected to sign around 10 MOUs.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a press briefing Friday that Lee is expected to ask China to play a constructive role in resolving Korean Peninsula issues, saying that "people's livelihoods and peace cannot be separated."

"Our countries share the common goal of bringing peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula and to Northeast Asia," Wi said. "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."

He said that the two sides are also expected to seek ways to advance cultural issues, such as easing China's unofficial restrictions on South Korean pop culture, or Hallyu.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung depart from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 4 for a four-day state visit to China. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

China took retaliatory measures against South Korea's entertainment and tourism industries after Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system to Korea in 2016 and installed it the following year.

He also reiterated that the South Korean government "respects the 'One China' policy" regarding Taiwan, especially as Sino-Japanese tensions flare over the matter.

In an interview with China's state-run broadcaster CCTV, which aired Friday night, Lee said, "Regarding the Taiwan issue, which is arguably China's most pressing concern, our position of respecting the 'One China' principle remains unchanged."

Lee will also attend a South Korea-China business forum in Beijing on Monday to focus on expanding economic ties.

In his first overseas trip of the year, Lee is being accompanied by a 200-member business delegation, including the heads of South 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.

The business delegation, organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will focus on expanding economic cooperation in areas including manufacturing innovation models amid the shift to AI technology, cooperation in the raw materials supply chain and collaboration in new industries such as services and content.

On Tuesday, Lee will meet with Premier Li Qiang for a luncheon to 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 of South Korea's National Assembly speaker, to discuss ways to enhance goodwill and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.

Later Tuesday, Lee will head to Shanghai for a two-day trip to visit the historic provisional government building, which served as the Korean government's headquarters from 1926 to 1932, marking its 100th anniversary. This year commemorates 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.

He is also scheduled to attend a South Korea-China startup summit in Shanghai and wrap up his trip on Wednesday, returning to Seoul the same day.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]