Blue House: "President Lee's Visit to China Establishes Pragmatic Diplomacy in the International Community"

Spokesperson Kang Yujeong’s Briefing on January 8
"Winning the Hearts of the Chinese People Is an Achievement"

Kang Yujeong, the Blue House spokesperson, is briefing at the Blue House Chunuchu Hall on the 8th about foreign media trends regarding President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to China. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On January 8, the Blue House stated, "President Lee Jaemyung's state visit to China served as a clear opportunity to establish his pragmatic, national interest-centered diplomacy in the international community."

Kang Yujeong, the Blue House spokesperson, made this statement during a briefing at the Chunuchu Hall in the afternoon, citing foreign media coverage of President Lee's visit to China.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "Major foreign media outlets commonly highlighted that this visit marked a turning point for the comprehensive restoration of Korea-China relations," adding, "Furthermore, it became an opportunity to shift away from the 'security with the United States, economy with China' framework, transitioning toward pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interest."

She further noted that Chinese media focused on the normalization of Korea-China relations, while Western media paid attention to President Lee's pragmatic diplomatic approach. Kang also reported that media in Taiwan and Japan commented on President Lee's cautious attitude regarding sensitive issues.

Additionally, Spokesperson Kang mentioned that posts related to President Lee's visit to China have been actively shared on social networking services (SNS).

Kang highlighted, "The scene of President Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping taking a selfie with a Xiaomi phone ranked sixth in real-time search terms on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, and reportedly garnered about 460,000 views." She emphasized, "As President Lee has said, the most important aspect of diplomacy is the trust between leaders, and fundamentally, it is about winning the hearts of the people. Opening the hearts of the Chinese people can be seen as another achievement of this diplomatic visit."