South Korea and China announce a new stage of cooperation. A breakthrough meeting in Beijing
South Korean President Li Jae Mjung and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in Beijing the full resumption of strategic relations between their countries. During the meeting, the leaders emphasized the need to cooperate for peace on the Korean Peninsula and signed 15 agreements on economic cooperation.
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President Li's visit to China, as he noted, aims to make 2026 a breakthrough year in relations between Seoul and Beijing. In talks with Xi Jinping, the South Korean leader emphasized that the development of the partnership should be based on “equal principles.” He also added that joint actions of both countries can contribute to prosperity in the region.
Xi Jinping, quoted by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that China and South Korea, as beneficiaries of economic globalization, should jointly oppose protectionism and promote a multipolar world order. The Chinese leader also emphasized the importance of cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, green industry and the “silver economy” aimed at the needs of an aging society.
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New agreements and economic cooperation
After the talks the leaders of both countries participated in the ceremony of signing 15 agreements covering key sectors such as trade, technological innovation, transport and environmental protection. The South Korean delegation that accompanied President Li included over 200 business leaders, including CEOs of such giants as Samsung Electronics, SK Group and Hyundai Motor.
President Li's visit to China took place in the shadow of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. A few hours before the South Korean leader's departure to Beijing, Kim Jong Un's regime conducted its first missile test this year, justifying it with the need to increase its nuclear deterrent potential. Significantly, however, in the official statements after the meeting of the leaders of South Korea and China there were no direct references to the issue of denuclearization of the region.
Other factors also influence the situation in the region, including China's diplomatic dispute with Japan regarding Taiwan and the strengthening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in the context of the war in Ukraine. China, although officially declaring neutrality towards the Russian invasion, has not condemned Russia's actions or reports of the participation of North Korean soldiers in the conflict.
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Seoul's new strategy and Beijing's goals
The meeting in Beijing was the second in the last two months. President Li, unlike his predecessor Jun Suk Jeol, who presented a more critical stance towards China, is trying to conduct pragmatic diplomacy, balancing between a strategic alliance with the US and economic cooperation with Beijing.
In turn, China, seeking to strengthen relations with Seoul, is trying to weaken the growing trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States. Beijing sees this alliance as a potential threat and an attempt to create a regional bloc against China.
