"The image quality is certainly good, right?" President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Jae Myung wrote in a January 5 social media post accompanied by a beaming face emoji.

The post features a selfie Lee had just taken of himself and his wife alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife in Beijing, using the Chinese-made Xiaomi smartphone Xi had gifted him during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju, the ROK, late last year.

"Thanks to that, I managed to get the perfect shot," Lee added. "We will communicate more often and cooperate even more in the future."

The photo was taken after a state banquet hosted by Xi for Lee at the Great Hall of the People, during Lee's four-day state visit to China from January 4 to 7. It was the ROK president's first visit to China since taking office in June 2025.

During their talks, the two leaders agreed to enhance bilateral strategic cooperative partnership, promote practical cooperation and strengthen multilateral coordination.

For a full recovery of ties

China has consistently placed relations with the ROK high on its regional diplomatic agenda and maintained continuity and stability in its policy toward the ROK, Xi said during talks with Lee on January 5.

He added that China is willing to work with the ROK to firmly uphold the direction of friendly cooperation, adhere to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, promote the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership along a healthy path, effectively enhance the wellbeing of both peoples and contribute positively to regional and global peace and development.

Xi called on both sides to enhance mutual trust, respect each other's development paths, accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns and resolve differences properly through dialogue and consultation.

Lee said the ROK hopes to use the first head-of-state diplomatic meeting of the year as an opportunity to consolidate the momentum of the comprehensive recovery and development of bilateral relations, seek common ground while reserving differences, deepen the ROK-China strategic cooperative partnership and open a new chapter of bilateral relations.

He emphasized that the ROK respects China's core interests and major concerns, and adheres to the one-China principle.

Ahead of the trip, Lee gave an interview to China Central Television, the state broadcasting network, on January 2, during which he called for meetings between leaders of the two countries to take place "at least once a year, whether in China or the ROK."

Tang Xiao, an assistant research fellow at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, said Lee's China visit aimed to restore high-level exchange, explore new opportunities for economic cooperation and revive people-to-people ties.

"Since taking office, the Lee administration has signaled a pragmatic approach and willingness to repair ties," Tang told Beijing Review.

Cooperation agreement signed

During Lee's recent visit, the two countries signed 15 cooperation documents in fields including scientific and technological innovation, ecological environment, transportation and economic and trade cooperation.

China and the ROK share close economic ties with industrial and supply chains deeply interwoven, and the bilateral cooperation is mutually beneficial, Xi said during talks with Lee. China has remained the ROK's largest trade partner for 21 consecutive years.

Xi expressed hope that the two countries can achieve more cooperation results in emerging fields such as AI, green industries and the silver economy.

Lee said bilateral economic and trade cooperation has played a positive role in the economic and social development of both countries. He noted that the ROK looks forward to seizing the opportunities created by the implementation of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) to achieve more results in practical cooperation with China.

In his speech at a business forum in Beijing on January 5, Lee likened the economic and trade ties between the two countries as "ships that sail on the same sea in the same direction."

"We need to forge a new level of cooperation through future technologies, like AI, which can deepen collaboration across both manufacturing and services," he said, adding that consumer goods, including household products, cosmetics and food, as well as cultural content, including films, music, games and sports, could also offer a "new breakthrough" in economic ties between the two nations.

Lee's state visit also brought along a business delegation of more than 200 members, including Samsung Electronic Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and LG Group Chair Koo Kwang-mo.

Some voices in the ROK have overemphasized the competitive side of China-ROK economic and trade relations and expressed pessimism about the prospects for bilateral cooperation, according to Tang.

She said Lee's visit gave a strong push to evolve the past model of vertical division of labor, often described as "ROK technology plus Chinese labor," into a more horizontal partnership in which the two countries act as equal partners by fully leveraging their respective technological strengths and seizing opportunities in a new round of technological and industrial development.

Regional peace and development

China and the ROK should join hands to safeguard the fruits of the victory obtained in World War II and protect peace and stability in Northeast Asia, Xi said during talks with Lee.

He pointed out that more than 80 years ago, the two peoples made tremendous national sacrifices and defeated Japanese militarism.

China and the ROK shoulder important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development, and share a wide range of common interests, Xi stressed, noting that the two countries should firmly stand on the right side of history and make the right strategic choices.

Lee stated both countries once fought together against Japan militarist aggression, and the ROK appreciates China's protection of historical sites related to the Korean Peninsula's independence movement in China.

Lee traveled to Shanghai on January 7. In the city, one of the hubs for the Korean Peninsula's independence fighters during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, Lee marked key historical milestones—the 150th anniversary of the birth of independence fighter Kim Koo and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Provisional Government building, reflecting on their historical importance.

Kwon Ki-sik, head of the Seoul-based Korea-China City Friendship Association, told newspaper The Beijing News that a visit to the former site of the Provisional Government of the ROK marked President Lee's commitment to upholding the spirit of independence and his opposition to militarism and imperialism.

Tang said Lee's visit was not only a tribute to the shared history of China and the ROK's joint struggle, but also an effort to use history to build public consensus and rekindle collective memories of bilateral friendship among the two peoples.

During their talks, the two leaders also reaffirmed the two countries' shared interest in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to continue exploring "creative approach to easing tensions and building lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," Wi Sung-lac, the ROK National Security Adviser, briefed reporters in Beijing on January 5.

(Print Edition Title: The New Starting Point)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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