[Politics & Diplomacy] Pres. Lee to make state visit to China from Jan. 4 to 7 for summit...

[Politics & Diplomacy] Pres. Lee to make state visit to China from Jan. 4 to 7 for summit with Pres. Xi

6년만의 한국 대통령 방중… 한중 관계개선 본궤도 오르나

President Lee Jae Myung will be departing for Beijing this Sunday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
For more on the President's visit to China, we have our correspondent Kim Bo-kyoung in the studio with us.
Bo-kyoung, welcome.

Thanks for having me.

So, President Lee is going to make a state visit starting this weekend. What's known to be on his itinerary?

Right, his visit will start this Sunday, that is January fourth, and after staying in Beijing for three days, he will be traveling to Shanghai before returning home on Wednesday.
In Beijing, President Lee will hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and have a state dinner.
The reason why he's traveling to Shanghai is to mark the historic significance of 2026.
It marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Korean independence hero Kim Gu, who was a key leader of the independence movement during Japan's colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
He was also the president of the provisional government of the Republic of Korea located in Shanghai, which also marks the centennial anniversary of its establishment.
President Lee is also going to take part in events to promote partnerships between the countries' venture and startup sector companies.

It has been only two months since President Xi visited Gyeongju and held talks with President Lee.
Could you tells us what President Lee's visit to China this time hints at?

We need to note that President Lee's visit to China is the first for a South Korean leader in more than six years, since former President Moon Jae-in’s visit in December 2019.
Experts are saying that the Chinese leader’s state visit to South Korea and a reciprocal visit taking place just seven months after President Lee’s inauguration itself shows that bilateral relations are improving rapidly.
Chinese state media, too, while citing experts, has said President Lee's visit would mark a new starting point for bilateral ties.
For example, one expert at Shanghai University was quoted by the state-run Global Times as saying that President Lee's visit symbolizes a new beginning from a new starting point, while adding that bilateral ties will enter a phase of stabilization and recovery.
Given that the tensions between China and the U.S. are still lingering after the tariff war that took place this year, one expert I talked to underlined that this shows the ties between the two are of great importance.

"The summit hints at the restoration of bilateral ties which had been stalled for some time, and that the strategic cooperative relationship between South Korea and China is very important in the context of global geopolitics.”

There will be many items on the agenda for the two leaders to cover.
What could they be?

Mainly the follow-up measures, perhaps, to implement the seven MOUs that were signed for long-term economic cooperation during the previous summit.
The same expert also says that instead of other sensitive issues between the two countries, the two leaders are likely to focus on economic cooperation.

"The leaders are likely to discuss further accelerating the second phase of the Korea–China FTA negotiations, and move beyond the previously stalled framework of cooperation and expand collaboration not in traditional industries of the past, but in more future-oriented industries.”

For those not familiar with the FTA negotiations, the two countries had previously signed the FTA in 2015 and reached a limited agreement on opening the service and investment sectors.
No consensus has been reached so far, but if Presidents Lee and Xi can conclude the second phase of the FTA negotiations this time, the scope of trade that was limited to manufactured goods and agricultural products could further include services and investment sectors such as finance, telecommunications, legal services, and culture.
Also, although the expert said it would be a bit difficult for Seoul to discuss North Korean issues with Beijing, still, eyes are on whether they could talk about denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and whether China will explicitly include such language in its official statements.
The meeting itself has reignited hope of China lifting its restrictions on Korean cultural content as well so we would have to wait and see how things unfold.

Alright, these are all the questions I wanted to ask.
Thanks, Bo-kyoung, for today.

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2025-12-31, 20:00 (KST)