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Xi congratulates Lee on election win as Beijing cautiously hopes for thawing ties

Published: 04 Jun. 2025, 17:27

Korea and China's flags flutter next to Tiananmen Gate during the visit of then-Korean President Moon Jae-In in Beijing on Dec. 15, 2017. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Chinese President Xi Jinping extended his congratulations to President Lee Jae-myung upon his inauguration on Wednesday, amid tentative expectations within Beijing for improved China–Korea relations after years of strained ties under the previous administration.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, Xi called China and Korea “important neighbors and cooperation partners,” adding, "I attach great importance to the development of China-South Korea relations."

Seemingly in acknowledgment of the growing global uncertainty amid intensifying U.S.-China tensions, Xi said, “The world is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, with increasing instability in international and regional affairs.”

He urged both Beijing and Seoul to “hold fast to the original intention of establishing diplomatic ties” and to “steadily maintain the direction of good-neighborly friendship” as key regional players.

While major Chinese state-run outlets refrained from offering in-depth commentary as of Wednesday morning, the pro-Beijing Sing Tao Daily in Hong Kong expressed optimism.

In an editorial, the paper called Lee “a positive development for China–Korea relations,” predicting that his pragmatic diplomacy would contribute to Northeast Asian stability.

The editorial sharply criticized the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, stating that it “openly sided with the United States during the U.S.–China new Cold War,” referring to Seoul’s support for the so-called semiconductor alliance that was seen as a check on China.

“Yoon was effectively held hostage by ideology, and in objective terms, narrowed Korea’s diplomatic space,” the paper argued.

Chinese flags flutter near shipping containers at Yangshan Port outside Shanghai on Feb. 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Experts in China echoed a sense of optimism.

Dong Xiangrong, head of the Asia-Pacific political research division at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told China's Global Times that, unlike the previous administration, which “clung to so-called values-based diplomacy,” President Lee is expected to reassess economic ties with China and prioritize access to the Chinese market in order to boost Korea’s economy.

Wang Xiaoling, a research fellow at the CASS National Institute of International Strategy, noted that many in Korea now believe frozen ties with China are hurting both countries.

“[With the launch of the Lee administration,] the second-phase negotiations for the China–Korea FTA will likely gain momentum,” Wang said.

President Lee Jae-myung applauds during a luncheon marking his inauguration at the Sarangjae pavilion of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on June 4. [JOONGANG ILBO]

However, some analysts urged caution.

Zhan Debin, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, pointed out that while Lee emphasized the importance of ties with Beijing during the campaign, he has yet to present a clear China policy.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Zhan said.

Observers are also closely watching the order of President Lee’s calls with foreign leaders. In 2017, former President Moon Jae-in, who took office without a transition team following a snap election, spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on his Inauguration Day and received a congratulatory message from Xi the same day. Moon held a phone call with Xi the following day.

In contrast, former President Yoon received Xi’s congratulatory message on March 10, 2022, the day after his election victory, but did not speak with Xi until March 25, after speaking with the leaders of the United States, Japan, Britain, Australia, India and Vietnam. Xi was the seventh foreign leader Yoon called.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SHIN KYUNG-JIN [[email protected]]