Overview
- Lee departed Sunday for a four-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai with a large business delegation, with a summit with Xi on Monday and meetings with Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji to follow.
- The two sides are expected to sign more than 10 memorandums of understanding spanning AI, green energy, supply chains and tourism, alongside a Korea–China business forum in Beijing.
- Seoul will press China to play a constructive role in restarting dialogue and advancing peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, after North Korea fired ballistic missiles hours before Lee's departure.
- In a CCTV interview before the trip, Lee reaffirmed South Korea's respect for the One-China policy as the visit follows recent Chinese military drills near Taiwan and strained China–Japan ties.
- South Korea plans to seek progress on easing China's unofficial curbs on Korean cultural content and will raise concerns about Chinese steel structures in an overlapping Yellow Sea zone.