Conflict with China won’t benefit South Korea, Lee Jae-myung says ahead of state visit

Ahead of his state visit to China, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said that while security cooperation with the US was an “unavoidable reality” for Seoul, its relations with Beijing should not move towards confrontation.

In an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Friday, Lee called for more frequent leader-level dialogues – at least annually – to explore mutually beneficial opportunities amid an increasingly complex global environment.

His state visit to China, set to begin on Sunday, will be the first by a sitting South Korean president since 2019.

According to Seoul, he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday afternoon, their second summit in two months.

They last met in South Korea on November 1, on the sidelines of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

Lee told CCTV that the purpose of this China trip was to “minimise or eliminate, to the greatest extent possible, the misunderstandings and contradictions” that had posed obstacles to the development of bilateral relations, and to “elevate and advance the ties to a new stage” so the two countries could mutually support each other.

South China Morning Post