South Korea's Lee, in Beijing, says he seeks full restoration of China ties in 2026

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Monday that he wants to open a “new phase” for relations with China, after meeting with President Xi Jinping during Lee’s first trip to Beijing since taking office in June.“This summit will be an important opportunity to make 2026 the first year of full-scale restoration of Korea-China relations,” Lee said.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Monday that he wants to open a “new phase” for relations with China, after meeting with President Xi Jinping during Lee’s first trip to Beijing since taking office in June.

“This summit will be an important opportunity to make 2026 the first year of full-scale restoration of Korea-China relations,” Lee said. “I believe that efforts to develop the strategic cooperation and partnership between the two countries into an irreversible trend of the times will continue.”

It was Lee’s second meeting with Xi in just two months, a sign of Beijing’s keen interest in increasing economic collaboration and tourism with Seoul as China’s relations with Northeast Asia’s other big economy, Japan, have reached the lowest point in years in a dispute over policy toward Taiwan.

In comments reported by Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, Xi made an unusually direct reference to the shared Chinese and Korean experience of resisting Japan during World War II.

“More than 80 years ago, China and South Korea made tremendous national sacrifices and won the victory against Japanese militarism,” Xi told Lee.