President Lee Meets Korean Residents in China: "State Visit Will Be a Milestone for Designing the Next 30 Years"

President Lee Begins 4-Day State Visit to China
Attends Meeting with Korean Residents in China as First Official Event
"A New Starting Point for Deeper and Broader Korea-China Relations"
"Industrial Cooperation in Renewable Energy, Biotechnology, and More... Partnership for Peace and Unification on the Korean Peninsula"
"I Will Also Resolve Inconveniences in Overseas Voting"

President Lee Jaemyung, who is on a state visit to China, stated on the 4th (local time), "My return visit will serve as an important milestone, using the 30-plus years of diplomatic relations as a stepping stone to design a new 30 years for both countries." The meeting between President Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping comes two months after their summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju last November. Notably, this marks the first visit to China by a South Korean president in over six years since former President Moon Jaein in December 2019, and the first state visit in over eight years since December 2017.

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President Lee held a meeting with Korean residents in China at a hotel in downtown Beijing on this day, stating, "At last year’s APEC summit in Gyeongju, I met with President Xi and promised to substantially restore the strategic cooperative partnership between our two countries and advance it to a more mature relationship." He continued, "As my first practical diplomatic schedule of the year, I am making a state visit to China. I hope today marks a new starting point for Korea-China relations, filling in previous gaps, restoring normalcy, and moving toward an even deeper and broader development of our bilateral ties."

President Lee emphasized, "It is said that this is the first time in history that the leaders of Korea and China have paid state visits to each other within just two months. This reflects the grave shared recognition and strong will of both governments-the Chinese and Korean-to normalize relations as quickly as possible and move toward a future-oriented partnership."

President Lee assessed the full restoration of Korea-China relations since the launch of his administration as its greatest achievement. He said, "There was a diplomatic vacuum for a time due to an illegal state of emergency, but the government of national sovereignty declared Korea’s return to the international community as a democratic nation immediately after its inauguration last June, and has since accelerated the normalization of diplomacy. While there have been various diplomatic achievements, the complete restoration of Korea-China relations, which had long regressed, is the most significant and rewarding accomplishment."

President Lee noted, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses and Korean residents left China, causing great difficulties for the Korean community here. Statistically, the number of Koreans in China once exceeded 500,000, but now it has dropped to just above 200,000." When he asked, "It will recover soon, right?" the audience responded with applause.

He also announced plans to expand cooperation with China in fields such as renewable energy, biotechnology, and the silver industry, as well as for peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula. President Lee began by noting that every January, fine dust from China has been a major issue, and said, "They say even mountains and rivers change in ten years, and China has truly achieved many changes and reforms, such as making fintech technologies like Alipay commonplace and greatly expanding the adoption of electric vehicles through eco-friendly policies. While China is now a competitor with us in the global market, I believe there remain countless areas for collaboration based on our respective comparative advantages, such as renewable energy, biotechnology, and the silver industry." He added, "Moreover, China is an indispensable partner in our pursuit of peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula."

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He pledged to do his utmost to ensure a positive atmosphere so that Korean residents in China do not face difficulties, and to strengthen communication and cooperation based on mutual respect and consideration between the two governments. President Lee further stated, "Through pragmatic, national interest-centered diplomacy, we will create models for our companies to leap forward in the global market, and at the national level, we will spare no support so that wherever you are, you always feel closely connected to your homeland, the Republic of Korea."

He also promised to resolve the inconveniences of overseas voting. President Lee said, "Despite China’s vast geography, only 10 polling stations were set up for the recent overseas elections, causing significant inconvenience. We will redouble our efforts to improve the overseas election system to ensure that nothing impedes the exercise of your sovereign rights."