South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung is meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing as he seeks to improve relations between the two countries. Regional security and China’s restrictions on South Korean pop culture are expected to be key topics during the visit.
Resetting Ties with China
The meeting, their second summit since November when Xi visited South Korea, comes as China and Japan are engaged in a diplomatic dispute over Taiwan, putting South Korea in a challenging position. Experts say Lee is seeking assurances that China will not use its economic influence in response to regional political tensions.
China recently increased its criticism of Japan after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Tokyo could use its self-defense force if China were to attack Taiwan. Like Japan, South Korea is a U.S. ally and supports Taiwan’s defense.
Lee arrived in Beijing on Sunday and will attend a banquet hosted by Xi on Monday. He is also scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the chairman of parliament, Zhao Leji, before traveling to Shanghai.
Speaking to Korean residents in Beijing, Lee stated his visit would “serve as a new starting point to fill in the gaps in Korea-China relations, restore them to normal and upgrade them to a new level.” This is the first visit by a South Korean leader since 2019, after relations soured under his predecessor.
Regional Dynamics and North Korea
Professor Park Seung-chan of Yongin University told the BBC that Xi’s willingness to meet with Lee indicates a need for regional allies. “China may beat around the bush but its demand is clear: side with China and denounce Japan,” Park said. Beijing is leveraging shared historical experiences fighting against Japan during the 20th Century.
Lee is expected to hold a memorial service in Shanghai for activists who fought for Korea’s independence from Japan. While maintaining deference towards China, South Korea also aims to strengthen its relationships with both Japan and China, according to Park.
Seoul recently affirmed its adherence to the One China policy, as stated by South Korea’s national security director Wi Sung-lac on Friday.
Security on the Korean Peninsula will also be discussed. Lee has sought diplomatic engagement with North Korea, but progress has been limited. He needs China’s cooperation to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to abandon his nuclear weapons program. China is North Korea’s largest economic and diplomatic supporter, alongside Russia.
“China is a very important cooperative partner in moving toward peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula,” Lee said during his address to Korean residents in Beijing.
On Sunday, South Korea’s military reported that North Korea fired ballistic missiles off its east coast. North Korea’s KCNA news agency stated the launches were hypersonic missile tests to assess its war deterrence capabilities in response to geopolitical developments. Pyongyang also criticized the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a violation of sovereignty.
Ongoing Issues
While the extent of Lee’s influence on China regarding North Korea remains uncertain, Xi previously pledged to strengthen “traditional friendship” with Pyongyang in September.
The relationship between Seoul and Beijing is not without its challenges. U.S. troops have been stationed in South Korea for decades as a deterrent against North Korea, and the two countries recently agreed to collaborate on building nuclear-powered submarines, drawing criticism from China.
China has also maintained unofficial restrictions on South Korean music and dramas for a decade, believed to be a response to South Korea’s deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in 2016. Persuading Beijing to lift these restrictions is a priority for Lee, given the significant market for Korean entertainment. Lee is also seeking to address China’s construction of maritime structures in waters between the two countries, which Seoul views with security concerns.
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