Xi Jinping urges South Korea's new president to set relations with China on ‘right course'

South China Morning Post

2 days ago

Lee, widely perceived as a China dove, took office on June 4 after winning a snap election triggered by his predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law.
Xi added: 'A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China-South Korea relationship aligns with the trends of the times, serves the fundamental interests of both peoples, and contributes to regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity.'
'Respecting each other's core interests and major concerns will help maintain the right course of bilateral relations and ensure steady progress,' he said, according to a statement issued by Beijing.
In Tuesday's call, the first since Lee took office last week, Xi called for a 'good-neighbourly friendship' and more diplomatic, economic and cultural exchanges.
Beijing is trying to get closer to Seoul amid its escalating rivalry with the United States and Xi described the two countries as 'close neighbours that cannot be separated', adding that the two sides should respect each other's core interests and major concerns.
China's President Xi Jinping has told South Korea's new leader Lee Jae-myung to put relations back on 'the right course' and work with Beijing to uphold multilateralism and free trade.
During his campaign, Lee called for 'pragmatic diplomacy' and sharply criticised Yoon for 'unnecessarily antagonising' China, South Korea's top trading partner, through his military alignment with the US and Japan and confrontational stance towards Beijing.
In his inauguration speech, Lee promised to approach relations with neighbouring countries from a 'perspective of national interest and pragmatism,' after
promising during the campaign to improve ties with China while maintaining a balance between the two superpowers.
Xi sent Lee a congratulatory message immediately after his election win, expressing a desire to strengthen ties, while acknowledging Seoul as a major regional and global player.
03:17
South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung vows to fix economy, hold talks with North Korea
South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung vows to fix economy, hold talks with North Korea
During the call, he congratulated Lee again and praised the 'mutual success and common development' achieved by the two nations since establishing formal diplomatic ties in 1992, highlighting their ability to transcend 'ideological and social system differences'.
'[China and South Korea] should advance their strategic cooperative partnership to higher levels, bringing more benefits to their peoples and injecting greater certainty into the complex regional and international landscape,' Xi said.
He called on Lee's new administration to strengthen exchanges 'at all levels', enhance strategic trust and multilateral coordination while 'jointly upholding multilateralism and free trade, and ensuring the stability and smooth operation of global and regional industrial and supply chains'.
Xi also urged Seoul to 'expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges to foster mutual understanding'.
South Korean views of China have taken an increasingly unfavourable turn in recent years. Polling data suggests this trend is strongest among those in their 20s and 30s and it has been accompanied by a continuous drop in the number of students studying in China.
Beijing has been trying to improve matters by adding South Korea to the list of countries whose citizens can visit China for travel or business without a visa for 30 days.
In response, Lee was quoted by the Chinese media as praising China's development achievements and Xi's leadership.
'I highly value Korea-China relations and am willing to work with the Chinese side to promote the deep development of bilateral good-neighbourly and friendly relations, improve and enhance the feelings between the people of both countries, and achieve more results in Korea-China cooperation,' Lee said, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.
Unlike Yoon, who angered Beijing with an increasingly vocal stance on issues such as the South China Sea and Taiwan, Lee raised eyebrows for saying on the campaign that any cross-strait conflict would not be South Korea's concern.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. Most countries, including South Korea and the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.
According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, Lee urged China, North Korea's top diplomatic backer and economic lifeline, to play 'a constructive role' in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
09:19
From president to political pariah: the rise and fall of South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol
From president to political pariah: the rise and fall of South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol
'Lee expressed the hope that South Korea and China will actively promote exchanges and cooperation in various areas, including the economy, security, culture and people-to-people exchanges, based on the spirit of mutual benefit and equality,' said South Korea's presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
In response, Xi said China would try to resolve the issue and said peace and stability on the peninsula was in both South Korea and China's interest, Kang told Yonhap.
Lee has already spoken to US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and next week he will attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada, which will be an early test of how he plans to navigate between Washington and Beijing amid growing pressure.
According to a poll commissioned by The Korea Times last week, 49 per cent of those questioned said strengthening the alliance with Washington should be the new president's top foreign policy priority.
Boosting multilateral diplomacy through the G7 and Nato ranked second at 20 per cent, followed by improving ties with China at 18 per cent and resolving historical disputes with Japan at 10 per cent.
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