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President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea shakes hands with Ambassador Dai Bing, who represents China in South Korea, upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport for his state visit to China on Jan. 4, 2026. (Yonhap)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Beijing on Sunday to begin a four-day visit to China as a guest of the state.

On Monday, Lee was scheduled to meet again with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit on topics including the North Korean nuclear issue and expanded bilateral economic cooperation. The meeting comes around two months after a previous summit held in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju. 

At 1:46 pm on Sunday, Lee arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport, where he was greeted by Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun, among others. Given that China has typically sent the deputy foreign minister to greet guests of the state in the past, the fact that a ministerial-level official was sent this time signals how much importance Beijing is placing on Lee’s visit.

The key event for the visit is Lee’s summit with Xi, which was scheduled to take place on Monday. Lee was expected to take part in the summit after first attending an official welcome ceremony held by China earlier in the day.

The topics to be addressed at the summit are likely to include increased economic cooperation, which is a shared focus of interest for both sides; the North Korean nuclear issue and the matter of Chinese offshore structures in the West Sea, which are focuses for South Korea; and the Taiwan issue, which is a key focus for China.

In the wake of remarks made in November of last year by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — who alluded to intervention in the event of an emergency situation in Taiwan — China has been placing strong demands on South Korea to respect its “one-China” principle.

The schedule for after the summit on Monday includes signing ceremonies for roughly 10 bilateral memoranda of understanding in areas including the economy, industry, climate/environment, and transportation, along with a state dinner. For Tuesday, a reception has been prepared between Lee and Premier Li Qiang, who is considered the key overseer of China’s economy.

On Wednesday, Lee is scheduled to travel to Shanghai to attend a South Korea-China venture start-up summit. He is also expected to visit the site of the Republic of Korea provisional government before returning home.

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]