'State Visit to China' President Lee Welcomed by Chinese Minister of Science and Technology... "Determined to Fully Restore Korea-China Relations" (Comprehensive)

Summit with President Xi Jinping on January 5... First State Visit to China in Eight Years
Two Months After Gyeongju APEC... Blue House: "China Demonstrates Goodwill as a Reciprocal Gesture"
First Official Engagement: Meeting with Korean Nationals

President Lee Jaemyung arrived in Beijing on the 4th (local time) for a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This marks the first meeting between President Lee and President Xi in about two months since their summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Gyeongju last November, and it is the first state visit to China by a South Korean president in eight years.

Yonhap News

At Beijing Capital International Airport, the Chinese delegation was led by Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing and his spouse. On the Korean side, Ambassador to China Noh Jaeheon, Seo Mangyo, Vice Chair of the National Unification Advisory Council in China, Ko Takhee, President of the Federation of Korean Associations in China, and Yang Geol, President of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in China, welcomed President Lee.

The Blue House assessed that the presence of a Chinese minister-level official to welcome President Lee demonstrates China's intention to solidify the full restoration of Korea-China relations. Minister Yin Hejun, who greeted President Lee, is a senior party official elected as a member of the Central Committee at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022 (a position elected every five years). In 2013, when former President Park Geunhye made a state visit to China, then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui (senior vice minister level) welcomed her, and in 2017, when former President Moon Jaein made a state visit, then Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou (vice minister level) received him.

The Blue House spokesperson's office stated, "Through this first state diplomatic event of the new year, China has demonstrated its intention to solidify the full restoration of Korea-China relations," adding, "It is also significant that China reciprocated with sincerity, considering that during President Xi's state visit to Korea for the APEC summit in Gyeongju, our Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed him at the airport."

For his first official engagement, President Lee will hold a dinner meeting with Korean nationals residing in China. He is expected to listen to their opinions and introduce the new year's policy direction of the Lee Jaemyung administration, as well as support measures for overseas Koreans and compatriots.

On the morning of the 5th, President Lee will attend the Korea-China Business Forum. He will interact with leading figures from both countries' business communities and discuss ways to create new areas of economic cooperation based on the complementary strengths of the two nations' industries in manufacturing, consumer goods, and services.

In the afternoon, President Lee will meet with President Xi for a summit meeting. Starting with an official welcoming ceremony, the schedule will include a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony and a state banquet. Building on the dialogue in Gyeongju, where both leaders agreed to fully restore Korea-China relations, the two presidents plan to engage in in-depth discussions on practical measures to address livelihood and peace issues facing both countries.

Yonhap News

At this summit, President Lee aims to solidify the political foundation of the strategic cooperative partnership based on the sequence of events: the summit call in June last year, the meeting in Gyeongju in November, and the Beijing summit this January. He also plans to restore strategic dialogue channels and build trust. In key areas directly affecting people's livelihoods-such as supply chains and investment, the digital economy, venture and startups, environment and climate, human exchanges and tourism, and responses to transnational crime-he has set a goal of achieving tangible results through mutually beneficial horizontal cooperation that leverages comparative advantages.

Additionally, under the shared objective of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, President Lee will request China's constructive role and intends to strengthen strategic communication. Finally, he plans to manage sensitive issues stably, such as making the West Sea a sea of peace and prosperity and gradually restoring cultural content exchanges.