South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visits Beijing amid regional tensions

BEIJING: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in Beijing yesterday, embarking on a delicate mission: to deepen economic ties with China, Seoul’s biggest trading partner, while carefully avoiding the region’s flashpoints, especially Taiwan.

Lee is the first South Korean leader to step into the Chinese capital in six years. His four-day visit comes just days after China staged massive military drills near Taiwan, firing missiles and deploying fighter jets, navy ships, and coast guard vessels. The show of force drew sharp international criticism—but South Korea has stayed notably neutral.

Travelling with a delegation of business and technology leaders, Lee is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials. While trade and investment are high on the agenda, there’s also a strategic layer: Lee hopes China might use its influence to ease tensions with North Korea, supporting his long-term goal of improving inter-Korean relations.

The timing is tense. Just hours before Lee departed, South Korea’s military reported that North Korea had launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan—its first test of the year—underscoring the fragile balance in the region.

For decades, Seoul has walked a tightrope between China, its top economic partner, and the United States, its main security guarantor. Analysts say Beijing is keen to draw South Korea closer, especially as trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo grows stronger.

“China sees South Korea as the weakest link in the trio,” said Kang Jun-young, a professor at Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

Lee has carefully avoided taking sides in regional disputes, including tensions between Beijing and Tokyo that erupted last year when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan might intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan. “Taking sides only worsens tensions,” Lee told reporters last month.

In an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Friday, Lee reaffirmed his stance: he respects the “one-China” principle and emphasises the importance of peace and stability in Northeast Asia, including the Taiwan Strait.

Today, Lee is scheduled for a summit with Xi, followed by trade discussions with top Chinese officials, including Premier Li Qiang, according to South Korean adviser Wi Sung-lac. The two leaders last met in November on the sidelines of a regional summit in Gyeongju, South Korea—a meeting that marked a tentative reset after years of chilly relations.

As he navigates the complex web of economics, diplomacy, and security, Lee’s visit reflects a careful balancing act: promoting growth at home while keeping the region’s simmering tensions in check.