South Korea’s diplomatic calendar has been packed with high-stakes meetings and symbolic gestures at the start of 2026, signaling a new chapter in East Asian relations. President Lee Jae-myung’s four-day state visit to China, starting January 4, marked the first such trip by a sitting South Korean leader since 2017. The visit, which included a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, set the tone for what many observers are calling a “full-scale restoration” of China-South Korea relations after years of tension and uncertainty.
Lee’s journey began in Beijing, where he and Xi met for the second time in just two months. Their first encounter had been on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Gyeongju in late 2025—a summit notable for Xi’s first trip to South Korea in over a decade. This rapid succession of meetings, as reported by The Diplomat, carried heavy symbolic weight, suggesting that both sides are eager to reset ties and move past the diplomatic chill that followed the 2017 THAAD crisis and the more recent strains under former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Accompanying Lee to China were more than 200 top executives from South Korea’s corporate heavyweights—Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and LG Group among them. The business delegation’s size and stature underscored Seoul’s intent to deepen economic cooperation with Beijing, even as it continues to invest heavily in U.S. industries, particularly semiconductors and shipbuilding. During the Lee-Xi summit, the two countries inked 15 agreements aimed at boosting cooperation in technology, intellectual property, and transportation. Meanwhile, Korean and Chinese companies such as Alibaba International, Lenovo, and Shinsegae signed nine memoranda of understanding covering consumer goods and supply chains.
These deals are emblematic of Lee’s pragmatic approach to foreign policy—a delicate balancing act between advancing economic ties with China and maintaining close strategic collaboration with Washington. According to The Diplomat, Lee’s strategy is to secure South Korea’s economic security and strategic autonomy amid global uncertainty, a goal that requires nimble diplomacy and a willingness to engage all sides.
Lee’s itinerary in China also included a stop in Shanghai, where he visited the historic site of Korea’s Provisional Government (1926-1932), a gesture that resonated with many back home. The trip’s symbolism was not lost on Beijing either. China rolled out the red carpet for Lee, upgrading the protocol level of his airport reception from a deputy minister during Moon Jae-in’s 2017 visit to the minister of science and technology this time around. “China and South Korea should make correct strategic choices as well as look after each other’s core interests and major concerns,” Chinese officials emphasized during the summit, in a message that seemed aimed as much at Tokyo as at Seoul.
The warming relations between China and South Korea stand in stark contrast to Beijing’s current posture toward Japan. As noted by The Diplomat, while Tokyo faces restrictions on imports, tourism, and cultural exchanges due to its hardline stance on Taiwan, Seoul has been welcomed with open arms. Lee, for his part, reaffirmed South Korea’s respect for the “One China” policy in an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV, a diplomatic move that sets his administration apart from Japan’s more confrontational approach under Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
Yet, the rapprochement with China is not without its complications. One of the thorniest issues remains North Korea. With inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. dialogue stalled, Lee is actively seeking China’s help in reconnecting with Pyongyang, given Beijing’s leverage as North Korea’s dominant economic provider. For China, engaging Seoul on Korean Peninsula security is less about resolving differences between the two Koreas and more about maintaining influence over Pyongyang, especially as Russia-North Korea ties deepen.
This shifting dynamic was evident in the language used during Lee’s visit. Both sides pledged efforts to “reduce tensions and build peace on the Korean Peninsula,” notably omitting any mention of “denuclearization”—a phrase China has also left out in recent meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and in its latest defense white paper. According to The Diplomat, this signals that Beijing understands North Korea’s message: don’t pressure Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal, and don’t get too cozy with Seoul.
While Lee was busy in China, preparations were underway in Seoul for another significant diplomatic engagement—this time with Japan. On January 8, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Takayuki Kobayashi, chairman of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party’s political affairs investigation center, at the Seoul Government Complex. The meeting, attended by other senior Japanese ruling party members and special advisers, was part of the groundwork for revitalizing Korea-Japan exchanges ahead of Lee’s upcoming visit to Japan.
Prime Minister Kim underscored the importance of Korea-Japan relations, even as “difficult issues” persist. “It is desirable to gather wisdom by strengthening cooperation in areas that are relatively likely,” Kim said, highlighting economic cooperation and youth exchanges as key opportunities. Kobayashi echoed this sentiment, stating, “Although companies from both Korea and Japan are in a competitive relationship with each other, there is a lot of room for cooperation in semiconductors and other fields.” He also noted the high popularity of Korean music and movies among young Japanese, expressing hope that Korean audiences would likewise embrace Japanese content.
Foreign Minister Cho and Kobayashi agreed that close cooperation between Korea and Japan has become more important amid the rapidly changing international situation. They discussed the possibility of expanding economic and manpower exchanges, with diplomats predicting that the summit could accelerate discussions on South Korea joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a multilateral free trade agreement led by Japan. The Lee administration has made CPTPP membership an official policy goal, though domestic opposition remains over concerns about Japanese agricultural and fishery imports.
Supply chain cooperation is also expected to feature prominently on the summit agenda, especially in light of China’s recent ban on exporting dual-use materials to Japan. With Japan facing restrictions on rare earths, graphite, and gallium, and South Korea importing key Japanese materials, both countries have a vested interest in finding common ground.
Tourism and human exchanges are on the table as well, with talks likely to include the resumption of the "Airport Fast Track" program to boost travel between the two countries. The North Korean issue will also be discussed, with South Korea seeking Japan’s cooperation on peace efforts and Japan hoping for progress on the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea.
Of course, unresolved historical disputes continue to cast a shadow over bilateral ties. South Korea has boycotted Japan’s Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony for two years running, citing a lack of sincerity from Tokyo. The issues of Dokdo, military sexual slavery, and compensation for historical damages remain flashpoints that will require careful navigation by both sides.
As the region braces for more diplomatic activity in 2026, the normalization of China-South Korea relations is expected to gain momentum, even as inter-Korean and China-Japan tensions show no signs of abating. For Seoul, the challenge will be to maintain its balancing act—deepening ties with both Beijing and Tokyo while safeguarding its own interests in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.