President Xi Jinping of China (left) shakes arms with President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea forward of the 2 leaders’ summit on the Gyeongju Nationwide Museum on the sidelines of the APEC summit on Nov. 1, 2025. (Yonhap)
Chinese language President Xi Jinping’s first go to to South Korea in 11 years and first bilateral summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung set Seoul-Beijing relations again on the trail of restoration after a frosty 9 years following clashes over the deployment of the US Terminal Excessive Altitude Space Protection, or THAAD, missile protection system in Korea.
The 2 leaders’ summit on the Gyeongju Nationwide Museum on Saturday made important progress on points associated to civilian livelihoods and the economic system, however confirmed that challenges stay on extra delicate points, together with the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
After being invited by Xi to go to China, Lee uploaded a put up on Fb on Sunday stating, “I’ll quickly make a go to to China.”
The summit ran thirty-five minutes over the hour it was initially scheduled to final. Within the briefing following the summit, South Korean Nationwide Safety Workplace head Wi Sung-lac commented that there have been “important achievements made to revive South Korea-China relations.”
“[Xi’s] first state go to to Korea in 11 years exhibits that the pursuit of pragmatic diplomacy, which places Korea’s curiosity first, has put South Korea-China relations again on a steady observe,” Wi mentioned.
Probably the most concrete achievements to come back out of this summit have been associated to livelihood points. The 2 leaders pledged to hurry up working-level discussions on the second section of the South Korea-China free commerce settlement, which issues companies and funding, and strengthen collaboration for the stabilization of provide chains. Additionally they signed seven memoranda of understanding, together with an extension of the South Korea-China foreign money swap settlement initiated in 2009.
This summit was a mirrored image of Lee’s pragmatic diplomacy roadmap, which goals to construct momentum to revive relations with China by advancing tangible advantages for the general public in each nations, by way of livelihoods and the economic system, at a time when belief stays weak between the 2 nations.
Whereas Lee had repeatedly emphasised the position of China within the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula forward of the summit, China solely reaffirmed its boilerplate place on the problem on the assembly.
“China performs an important position in establishing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Stability on the Korean Peninsula results in stability in Northeast Asia, which can also be in China’s curiosity. Now we have excessive hopes for the position China can play,” Lee mentioned throughout his opening assertion on the summit.
Nonetheless, the problem of the Korean Peninsula was nowhere to be present in China’s official readout printed after the summit.
“Xi reciprocated our hopes by stating that he would proceed efforts to resolve the battle surrounding the Korean Peninsula and guarantee peace and stability. Nonetheless, the position that China would play in resuming dialogue with North Korea was not mentioned in depth,” Wi, the nationwide safety adviser, mentioned.
China’s relationship with North Korea seems to have been a consider Xi’s cautious stance in response to Lee’s repeated strategies. In a press assertion printed on the identical day, Pak Myong-ho, North Korea’s vice international minister, slammed South Korea and China for contemplating denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, denouncing the notion as a “pipe dream.”
The 2 leaders mentioned delicate and thorny points comparable to China’s sanctions towards the Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, actions involving buildings China has constructed within the West (Yellow) Sea, and China’s ban on Korean cultural content material, however failed to seek out any concrete options to any of them.
Wi confirmed that the sanctions on Hanwha Ocean have been mentioned on the summit, stating, “As soon as points between China and the US are resolved, we will make substantive progress on lifting the sanctions towards Hanwha Ocean’s subsidiaries.”
Concerning the big metal construction put in by China within the West Sea and the ban on Korean cultural content material, Wi merely commented, “The 2 leaders discovered widespread floor when agreeing to resolve the problem by working-level consultations and communication.”
“The leaders noticed the significance of accelerating cultural change and cooperation, suggesting that the 2 nations cooperate additional to create content material,” Wi mentioned on China’s ban on Korean leisure, noting that the problem would require working-level discussions going ahead.
The 2 leaders additionally opted to not outwardly air any variations in opinion over Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear-powered submarine. When requested if the nuclear submarine problem had been introduced up throughout the summit, Wi mentioned that the 2 leaders “exchanged many views on varied pending points.”
“I can solely relay that varied points associated to nationwide safety have been mentioned,” he mentioned, sidestepping the problem.
Forward of the summit, China’s Overseas Ministry had warned that South Korea and the US ought to uphold the rules of nuclear non-proliferation and keep stability within the area, however none of those points made it into the official readout Beijing launched after the summit.
As the development of a nuclear submarine will take a while, China will most likely reply to the problem after South Korea and the US make extra progress of their negotiations.
Yang Gab-yong, a senior researcher at South Korea’s Institute for Nationwide Safety Technique, prompt that the summit represented a optimistic first step for the 2 sides.
“Each Lee and Xi centered on smoothing out South Korea-China relations, which had reached a low level, leaving thornier points as duties to handle sooner or later,” he mentioned.
“As South Korea-China relations regularly thaw and cooperation between the 2 nations strengthens, we will see progress on the problems of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the buildings within the West Sea,” Yang continued.
“If the 2 events want to stabilize their relationship following these first few steps towards restoring ties, Lee might want to comply with up with a go to to China early subsequent 12 months,” he added.
At their summit, Xi invited Lee to go to China.
By Park Min-hee, senior employees author
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
