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17h ago

Xi Wraps First South Korea Trip in 11 Years With State Visit in Gyeongju

Seoul presses for concrete concessions after a tentative U.S.-China trade truce.

China's President Xi Jinping talks with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, October 31, 2025. Yonhap via REUTERS
China's President Xi Jinping and South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung pose for photographs during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, October 31, 2025. Yonhap via REUTERS
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On the final day of his first trip to South Korea in over a decade, Xi will sit down with Lee on the sidelines of the APEC summit, held this year in the city of Gyeongju

Overview

  • Xi Jinping meets President Lee Jae Myung for a summit and state dinner on the APEC sidelines in Gyeongju, concluding a three-day visit.
  • Lee’s office says the agenda includes denuclearisation and broader peace efforts on the peninsula, which Pyongyang dismisses as a “pipe dream.”
  • Seoul seeks economic relief from Beijing, including lifting sanctions on five Hanwha Ocean units and easing long-running curbs on Korean entertainment content.
  • The talks follow Xi’s meeting with President Donald Trump, where both sides agreed to dial down their trade dispute with tariff reductions tied to fentanyl enforcement, soybean purchases and rare-earth exports.
  • Earlier in the week, Lee announced a separate deal with the United States to lower tariffs in exchange for new South Korean investment, highlighting Seoul’s balancing act between its top security ally and key trading partner.