BEIJING: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will head to China for his first state visit since he took his oath of office, a journey that positions him directly in the middle of festering rigidities in East Asia.
Lee will land in Beijing on Sunday for a three-day stay before moving on to Shanghai from Jan 6-7, his office confirmed Tuesday. It’s the first visit by a sitting South Korean president to China in four years, and expectations are high on both sides.
China is already making its position clear. In a recent phone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pressed Seoul to uphold the “one-China principle on Taiwan” and criticised Japanese officials for what Beijing called attempts to “justify the crimes of aggression and colonisation.”
The visit comes on the heels of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first trip to South Korea in 11 years, where he underscored the importance of “peace and stability in the region” at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. But in the months since, relations between China and Japan have sharply deteriorated.
Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, recently became the first Japanese leader to openly suggest that Tokyo might use its military if China attacked Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. Beijing responded with travel advisories, restrictions on Japanese seafood imports, and a demand for Takaichi to retract her remarks. The People’s Liberation Army also conducted its largest-ever drills around Taiwan, simulating a blockade with live-fire exercises and dozens of rocket launches into surrounding waters—a move Beijing called a “stern warning” against separatism and foreign interference.
Against this tense backdrop, Lee is stepping in as a potential mediator. “Taking sides would only escalate the conflict,” he said earlier this month, signalling that South Korea intends to walk a careful line between its powerful neighbours.
Lee won’t be travelling alone. He’ll be accompanied by a high-profile group of business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Group’s Chey Tae-won, and Hyundai Motor Group’s Euisun Chung. Their presence underscores Seoul’s desire to strengthen economic ties with China, even as trade and investment have faced challenges in recent years—particularly following disputes over U.S. missile defence systems and the temporary sanctions against Hanwha Ocean.
North Korea is also expected to feature prominently on the agenda. Kim Jong Un’s recent trip to China for a military parade, combined with Pyongyang’s growing defence cooperation with Russia, signals a more assertive North Korea. Kim has vowed to expand his country’s nuclear capabilities “without limit,” raising fresh security concerns for Seoul and the wider region.
Lee’s trip comes at a critical moment. South Korea is trying to balance its relationships with China, Japan, and the United States, manage a more confident North Korea, and navigate the growing U.S.-China rivalry—all while keeping the peace in a region on edge.
