South Korea’s Lee begins landmark China visit, to seek Xi’s role in Korean Peninsula breakthrough

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Beijing on Sunday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Xinhua news agency.

The four-day state visit marks the first trip to Beijing by a South Korean president since 2019.

Lee will hold talks with Xi on Monday, marking their second meeting in just two months, following their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in early November, when Xi visited South Korea for the first time in 11 years.

During his meeting with Xi, Lee is expected to discuss economic cooperation and peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula and would seek Beijing's involvement in securing "a breakthrough in resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula," according to the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency.

Accompanied by a large business delegation, he will also attend a Korea-China economic forum in Beijing on Monday to discuss expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, green energy, supply chains and tourism, among other areas.

The two sides are expected to sign more than 10 memorandums of understanding for cooperation in various areas, according to his office.

Lee will meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, China's top legislator, before heading to Shanghai on Tuesday. There, he plans to attend a startup event with Korean and Chinese entrepreneurs before returning home on Wednesday.

On Friday, Lee told China's state broadcaster CCTV News in an interview that "respecting the one-China principle and maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia, including in the Taiwan Strait, are very important."

China and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations in August 1992. The trade volume between the two countries reached $267.6 billion in 2024.