President Lee Jae Myung is poised to fly to Beijing for a state visit to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Tuesday.
During Lee’s visit upon Xi’s invitation, the Chinese leader will host a summit and a state dinner in Beijing, Kang said, without further elaborating on Lee’s itinerary. Lee is to depart for China on Sunday and return to South Korea on Jan. 7.
Kang told reporters that the summit will “strengthen the momentum to restore the strategic cooperative partnership” formed in 2008. Additionally, the leaders were expected to touch on ways to revive bilateral exchanges in terms of supply chain cooperation, investment, digital economy and environmental actions, she added. The two countries will also discuss measures to fight transnational crimes spilling over into East Asia.
Kang also unveiled Lee’s plans to meet overseas Koreans in China as well as prominent Chinese figures without elaborating.
Before returning to Seoul, Lee will stop by Shanghai for one night on Jan. 6 to honor the legacy of Korean independence fighters. The city is home to historical sites of Korea’s provisional government formed to resist Japan’s colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945). Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Kim Koo, former premier of the provisional government.
Business leaders from South Korea will accompany Lee’s trip, Kang said, without naming the companies.
Asked if the Lee-Xi meeting could lay the groundwork for Beijing’s easing of restrictions on Korean cultural content circulation in China, Kang said discussion topics for the upcoming summit were still being coordinated.
Lee’s visit will follow his first summit with Xi on Nov. 1 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conferences hosted. The summit also marked Xi’s first state visit to South Korea in 11 years.
Earlier on Dec. 22, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in an interview with Yonhap News TV that an early 2026 meeting between Lee and Xi was being coordinated, adding the summit could center on plans to work together to contribute to peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and seek stronger bilateral industrial ties.
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