At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will pay a state visit to China from January 4 to 7, 2026. It marks Lee's first trip to China since taking office in June 2025 and the first by a South Korean president since 2019. The visit is expected to advance the strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will make a four-day state visit to China starting Sunday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing that China and South Korea are important neighbors and cooperation partners. "We hope that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, this visit will play a positive role in advancing the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership."
A presidential official in Seoul revealed that Lee will meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing before heading to Shanghai and returning to Seoul. The two sides will discuss cooperation plans in areas such as supply chains, investments, the digital economy, responses to transnational crime, and environmental protection, with several agreements expected to be signed. A delegation of more than 200 South Korean business leaders, including heads of Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and LG Group, will accompany Lee.
Bilateral trade reached $328.08 billion in 2024, up 5.6% year-on-year. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-ROK free trade agreement, and the two sides have agreed to accelerate second-phase negotiations. In November 2024, China implemented a visa-free policy for South Korean citizens for tourism or business, reciprocated by South Korea in September 2025 for Chinese group tourists, boosting cross-border travel.
The visit follows Lee's meeting with Xi in November 2025 in Gyeongju, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Zhan Debin, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, said Xi's visit to South Korea marked the stabilization of bilateral relations, while Lee's trip aims to explore further progress in economic and trade cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges. Seoul and Beijing are competing for global dominance in industries like semiconductors, electronics, cars, shipbuilding, and batteries, but the visit underscores pragmatic collaboration.
