Overview
- Cheong Wa Dae and China’s foreign ministry confirmed the Jan. 4–7 state visit that includes a summit and state dinner hosted by Xi Jinping in Beijing.
- Foreign ministers Cho Hyun and Wang Yi held phone talks this week and agreed to prepare “concrete” and “substantive” deliverables for the trip.
- Several MOUs are planned across areas such as supply chains, investment, the digital economy, environmental cooperation and responses to transnational crime, with details to be released during the visit.
- A business delegation of more than 200 executives is expected to accompany Lee, likely including the heads of Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG, with a forum and matchmaking sessions on the agenda.
- Lee will make a one-night stop in Shanghai on Jan. 6 to honor Korean independence history, as industry watchers cautiously anticipate incremental easing of informal curbs on Korean cultural content.