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Lee-Xi summit good form, little function as Beijing appears to lean on Seoul

Published: 07 Jan. 2026, 08:00

President Lee Jae Myung, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo with a Xiaomi smartphone Xi gifted Lee at the Gyeongju summit in November 2025 after finishing a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 5. [NEWS1]

South Korea emphasized the “deep friendship and firm trust” between President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while China called for joint opposition to protectionism and the practice of “true multilateralism.”

The remarks are widely seen as aimed at the United States, China's Xinhua News Agency said on Tuesday. Beijing effectively sought South Korea’s “strategic alignment” with that stance.

The South Korea-China summit appeared to reopen long-clogged channels in bilateral relations, but it also confirmed differences on key issues, leaving President Lee’s pragmatism-driven diplomacy facing a growing set of challenges.

Following his meeting with Xi on Monday, Lee met with Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, on Tuesday, completing meetings with China’s top three leaders. In terms of protocol, the state visit — the first in nine years — left little to be desired.

What was missing, however, were tangible, written outcomes. While China has recently tended to issue summit statements only with countries that share similar positions, such as Russia, Iran and Brazil, it is highly unusual for a South Korean president to conclude a state visit to China without a joint statement or joint press release.

The only previous instances were in 1994, during the first North Korean nuclear crisis, and in late 2017, when tensions were high over South Korea’s deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system.

“If there was not even an attempt to prepare a joint statement, one has to question whether a state visit at the very start of the year was necessary,” Rep. Kim Gunn of the conservative People Power Party said Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump, center, watches the status of the operation to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with aides at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“Without clear explanations or follow-up measures regarding agreements on major bilateral issues, the strategic significance of holding two summits within two months is diminished,” said Kang Jun-young, a professor of the China Political Economy Department of Chinese Studies at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. “Signing memorandums of understanding expands the scope of cooperation, but implementation remains the real test.”

On the long-standing issue of China’s unofficial ban on Korean pop culture, the two sides concluded only that they had “reached a consensus on gradually expanding cultural content exchanges starting with mutually acceptable areas,” and that further discussions would continue.

Regarding Chinese-built structures in the West Sea, the explanation was similarly vague, saying only that “constructive consultations would continue.”

An agreement to hold vice-ministerial-level official talks on maritime boundary delimitation within 2026 represents concrete progress, but even if such talks are convened, they are likely to rehash existing disagreements. While summits offer the top leaders of countries an opportunity to resolve issues that working-level negotiations cannot through political decisions, no such resolution was reached this time.

Concerns were also raised over the Blue House's description of the West Sea as a “sea to be jointly utilized,” which critics say could later be used to bolster China’s claims. There are worries that Beijing may frame its structures there as matters for “consultation” rather than “removal.”

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac gives a briefing on the Korea-China summit at the Korea Press Center set up in a hotel in Beijing on Jan. 5. [YONHAP]

China’s official readout consisted largely of Xi’s remarks and portions of Lee’s comments, without any reference to what the two leaders “agreed” on. Many of Xi’s statements were framed in prescriptive terms, using expressions tantamount to “should” and “must,” such as calls to “respect each other’s core interests and major concerns” and to “stand firmly on the right side of history and make the correct strategic choices.”

Xi’s reference to multilateralism and contributing to “an equal and orderly multipolar world” was widely interpreted as alluding to the U.S. apprehension of the long-time Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a military operation in Caracas on Saturday, effectively pressuring South Korea to clarify its position. Some observers noted that the tone could be perceived as admonitory.

“Discussions on major international issues took place during the summit, and while positions did not fully align, they were neither confrontational nor contentious,” Seoul's national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, said, remarks widely read as acknowledging differences over Venezuela.

“The visit appeared aimed at preventing South Korea from tilting excessively toward the United States on issues such as alliance modernization, while establishing at least a minimal strategic buffer,” said Lee Dong-ryul, a professor of Chinese studies at Dongduk Women’s University.

Regarding China’s role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue — a key South Korean priority — both sides “confirmed the importance of resuming dialogue with North Korea,” said Wi. China’s official statement, however, made no mention of the Korean Peninsula.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shake hands ahead of the China-Japan summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 31, 2025. [YONHAP]

“China indicated that it was already playing a constructive role and would continue to do so,” said Wi. Given suspicions that Beijing is effectively tolerating North Korea’s nuclear status as Pyongyang’s strategic value rises within an anti-U.S. alignment, the remarks were seen as tacit acknowledgment that China has little intention of taking a more proactive role than it already has.

Notably, the term “denuclearization” did not appear in South Korea’s own materials. “Peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula were reaffirmed as a shared interest, but nothing more,” said presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, prompting concerns that Seoul itself is blurring its denuclearization objective.

There were no public clashes over the Taiwan Strait, a flashpoint in China-Japan tensions. “No new demands were raised by China on the Taiwan issue,” Wi said.

South Korea’s position of respecting “one China” remains unchanged, Lee said in an interview with China Central Television on Friday, an explanation Wi said the president reiterated during the summit. China’s Korean- and Chinese-language statements said Lee “upheld one China,” but Xinhua’s English-language report said South Korea “adheres to the one-China principle,” wording Seoul does not use and later criticized as a distortion.

The state banquet that followed the summit also drew attention. The People’s Liberation Army band performed a song with a title that translates roughly to “Who Doesn’t Say Our Hometown Is Good," a hit by first lady Peng Liyuan that gained popularity after being featured in the film “Red Sun,” which depicts the Communist Party’s decisive victory in the Menglianggu Campaign during the Chinese Civil War.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping wave to children during an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing before their bilateral summit on Jan. 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Some observers interpreted the song choice as underscoring Beijing’s view that the Taiwan issue was settled long ago as an internal matter.

China’s hospitality toward Lee was accompanied by what some saw as mixed signals. On Sunday, the day Lee arrived in Beijing, the Chinese military conducted large-scale New Year's drills involving rockets as well as army, navy and air force units.

Footage aired by CCTV showed DF-17 hypersonic missiles capable of striking targets in South Korea, Japan, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Although the drills were routine, proceeding without an adjustment for a state visit was seen as lacking consideration.

Xi also met with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin just hours before meeting Lee, an unusual case of overlapping summits during a state visit. “Unilateral bullying was seriously impacting the international order and development paths chosen independently by other nations should be respected,” Xi said in the meeting with the Irish prime minister — remarks widely seen as aimed at the United States and as setting a “model answer” ahead of his talks with Lee.

China also made little effort to conceal its desire for South Korea to join efforts to check Japan, invoking shared historical suffering under Japanese colonial rule.

President Lee Jae Myung, back left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, back right, clap during the signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

“More than 80 years ago, China and Korea endured immense sacrifices to defeat Japanese militarism and should now work together to safeguard the outcomes of World War II and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” Xi said.

According to China’s statement, Lee told Xi that the two countries had “fought together against Japanese militarist aggression.”

“While there was discussion about preserving historical sites, South Korea did not raise the Japan issue itself,” Wi said.

“Lee managed to maintain his pragmatic principles by not acceding to China’s overt calls to join an anti-Japan front,” said Kim Heung-kyu, a professor at Ajou University.

Even so, diplomats are watching closely to see how the visit may affect Lee’s upcoming trip to Japan. Chinese media have described Lee’s planned visit on Wednesday to the former site of South Korea’s provisional government in Shanghai as a “carefully designed political message.”

From left, President Lee Jae Myung, first lady Kim Hea Kyung, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan pose for a selfie taken by Lee on a Xiaomi smartphone during a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 5. [BLUE HOUSE]

Lee’s choice of the site sends a clear signal to Japan that historical issues remain unresolved, New Tanqin, a Xinhua-affiliated social media account, wrote Monday.

Separately, the two countries signed an agreement during the summit on the donation to China of a pair of stone lion statues from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by the Kansong Art Museum in Korea.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YOON JI-WON, SHIM SEOK-YOUNG [[email protected]]

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Lee-Xi summit good form, little function as Beijing appears to lean on Seoul

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