China and South Korea’s leaders pledged to bolster trade and safeguard regional stability during a visit to Beijing by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday, even as North Korea fired ballistic missiles just hours before Lee’s arrival.
Lee met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of a four-day trip to China that was his first since taking office in June. Xi hosted Lee at the Great Hall of the People, with a CCTV-broadcast readout highlighting the messages exchanged during the meeting.
Xi stressed the two countries’ “important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development,” according to the CCTV readout. Lee, speaking during the summit, said he was opening “a new chapter in the development of Korea-China relations” during “changing times,” and argued that “The two countries should make joint contributions to promote peace, which is the foundation for prosperity and growth.”
The meeting unfolded in a period marked by North Korea’s missile tests and by heightened regional security friction. South Korea’s national security adviser Wi Sung-lac told a briefing that during the summit the two countries agreed to keep exploring “creative ways” to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Wi also said the summit confirmed China’s resolve to play “a constructive role” in efforts to promote peace.
North Korea’s launches occurred just before Lee’s trip began. The launches included missiles North Korea said were hypersonic, designed to travel at more than five times the speed of sound and described as very difficult to detect and intercept. Foreign experts were cited as doubting that North Korea has developed a functioning hypersonic weapon.
The missile tests also came amid criticism from both North Korea and China related to a U.S. action involving Venezuela. North Korea criticized the U.S. attack as a wild violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty and an example of the “rogue and brutal nature of the U.S.” China, in turn, condemned the U.S. attack, saying it violated international law and threatened peace in Latin America.
Beyond the Korean Peninsula, the visit coincided with rising tensions involving China and Japan over Taiwan. The reporting cited comments by Japan’s new leader suggesting Tokyo could intervene in a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and said China staged large-scale military drills around the island for two days last week to warn against separatist and “external interference” forces.
In his meeting with Lee, Xi also referenced historical rivalry with Japan. Xi called for the two countries to “join hands to defend the fruits of victory in World War II and safeguard peace and stability in northeast Asia.” Lee said South Korea’s military cooperation with the U.S. should not push the relationship with China toward confrontation, and said his trip aimed to “minimize or eliminate past misunderstandings or contradictions (and) elevate and develop South Korea-China relations to a new stage.”
Separate from the security discussions, the leaders’ agenda included trade-focused diplomacy. China and South Korea maintain robust trade ties, with bilateral trade reaching about $273 billion in 2024, according to the report. Xi and Lee oversaw the signing of 15 cooperation agreements in areas including technology, trade, transportation and environmental protection, CCTV reported.
Earlier Monday, Lee attended a business forum in Beijing with representatives of major South Korean and Chinese companies, including Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Alibaba Group. At that forum, Lee and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng oversaw additional agreements covering consumer goods, agriculture, biotechnology and entertainment.
— Article generated by Main Street Independent’s News Article Generator framework (CC0). Human review: not_triggered.