Xi urges South Korea's Lee to make 'right choices' in turbulent world

by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Jan 6, 2026
China's top legislator told South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Beijing on Tuesday that he hoped for stable ties and deepening cooperation between the two countries, state media said.

Lee Jae Myung is the first South Korean leader to visit the Chinese capital in six years, and has sought to improve ties with China after a years-long diplomatic stand-off.

He met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, where both agreed on the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of dialogue with North Korea.

Zhao Leji, China's third highest-ranking official, told Lee during a meeting on Tuesday that China was willing to work with South Korea to "consolidate good-neighbourly friendship" and "deepen mutually beneficial cooperation", Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhao, also the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, said he hoped for the "stable and long-term development" of ties and stronger communication and cooperation, Xinhua added.

Lee's visit to China followed a US military operation in Caracas that ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face narco-trafficking charges -- a raid condemned by Beijing and Pyongyang.

He also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, hailing improving ties as the "irreversible trend of the times".

The South Korean leader, who is also hoping to expand economic cooperation with his country's largest trading partner, is visiting China's economic powerhouse of Shanghai on Wednesday.

Xi urges South Korea's Lee to make 'right choices' in turbulent world
Beijing (AFP) Jan 5, 2026 - Chinese President Xi Jinping called on his visiting South Korean counterpart Monday to join Beijing in making the "right strategic choices" in a world that is "becoming more complex and turbulent", state media reported.

Lee Jae Myung is the first South Korean leader to visit the Chinese capital in six years and his meeting with Xi came a day after the nuclear-armed North fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.

At their 90-minute summit, Lee and Xi agreed on the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of dialogue with North Korea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Lee's visit to China also followed a shock US military operation in Caracas that deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face narcotrafficking charges -- a raid condemned by Beijing and Pyongyang.

At Monday's talks, Xi warned "the world is currently undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is becoming more complex and turbulent", Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

Beijing and Seoul "bear important responsibilities" in upholding peace in the region, Xi said, noting that the sides "have broad common interests".

"They should firmly stand on the right side of history and make the right strategic choices."

The South Korean leader then said he wished to open a "new phase" in relations, "based on the trust" between himself and Xi.

And he vowed to "seek feasible alternatives together for peace on the Korean Peninsula", footage broadcast by Yonhap showed.

The leaders witnessed the signing of "15 cooperation documents" spanning technological innovation, the environment, transportation and trade, Xinhua said.

A state banquet followed the signing of the agreements, the report added.

Lee, accompanied by a delegation of business and tech leaders, hopes to secure pledges to expand economic cooperation with his country's largest trading partner.

He has called for South Korea and China to work towards "more horizontal and mutually beneficial" trade.

- 'Interconnected supply chains' -

On Monday, Lee also met with top executives from both South Korean and Chinese firms at Beijing's opulent Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Yonhap reported.

Among the Chinese firms represented were battery giant CATL as well as phone maker ZTE and tech giant Tencent, Yonhap said.

On the South Korean side, Lee was accompanied by business leaders including from Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group.

The South Korean President will meet on Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang -- who is in charge of economic policy -- before heading to China's economic powerhouse city of Shanghai.

- Pyongyang tensions -

Lee hopes his visit can harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with Pyongyang.

Hours before Xi and Lee were due to meet, Pyongyang declared that it had launched two hypersonic missiles and that its nuclear forces were ready for "actual war".

South Korean National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac told journalists after Monday's talks that Lee and Xi "reaffirmed peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula serves the interests of both countries," Yonhap reported.

"The two leaders underscored the importance of resuming dialogue with North Korea," Wi was quoted as saying.

Xi and Lee last met in November on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju -- a meeting Seoul framed as a reset of ties after years of tension.

Seoul has for decades trodden a fine line between China, its top trading partner, and the United States, its chief defence guarantor.

And Lee's trip comes less than a week after China carried out massive military drills around Taiwan, the self-ruled island it claims as part of its territory.

The exercise, featuring missiles, fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels, drew a chorus of international condemnation that Seoul has notably declined to join.

Lee also deftly stayed on the sidelines since a nasty spat erupted between Beijing and Tokyo late last year, triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan.