President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Korea-China MOU signing ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 5. (Captured from SBS)
President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a Korea-China summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 5, signing 14 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering economy, industry, climate, and transportation, along with one donation certificate. This summit, held two months after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Gyeongju last November, saw both leaders agree to not only fully restore relations that were severed under the previous administration but also elevate the level of their “strategic cooperative partnership.”
At the summit, Lee emphasized, “2026 will be the first year of comprehensive restoration of Korea-China relations,” adding, “We will continue our unwavering efforts to develop the strategic cooperative partnership into an irreversible historical trend.” He further stated, “Now, I would like to work together with President Xi to open a new phase in the development of Korea-China relations in line with the trends and changes of our times.”
In response, Xi said, “Global transformation is accelerating and the international situation is becoming more chaotic,” adding, “Accordingly, China and South Korea bear important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development.” He particularly noted, “(China and South Korea) have extensive common interests” and “should rightfully stand on the right side of history and make correct, proper, and strategic choices.” While Xi did not mention it directly, this is interpreted as meaning that South Korea should respect China’s position on recent issues such as the U.S. arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and cross-strait issues.
In fact, no clear solutions were found for the structures in the Korea-China Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) in the West Sea and Korean Wave restrictions, which were considered key issues of this meeting. Instead, South Korea provided support to China with a principled approach to the Taiwan issue, expressing respect for “One China,” while China found common ground by accepting that South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarines are a response to North Korea’s nuclear submarines.
At the Korea-China Business Forum held earlier, Lee emphasized, “Korea-China trade volume has stagnated at $300 billion, and we must work together on a new dimension of cooperation through future technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).”
