Lee Jae Myung of South Korea will meet Xi of China to mend fences.

In an attempt to mend strained relations with his nation’s largest economic partner, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
This is their second summit since Xi’s visit to South Korea in November, and other topics on the agenda include regional security and Beijing’s unofficial ban on Korean pop culture.

Experts say Lee is seeking guarantees that China, a crucial economic partner, won’t turn that relationship into a weapon in the face of regional political unrest. Seoul, a major regional power, is in a difficult position as China and Japan have been embroiled in a diplomatic spat for weeks over the former’s claim to self-governing Taiwan.

Following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion in parliament that Tokyo could retaliate with its own self-defense force in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, Beijing intensified its rhetoric against Japan.

Thus, Lee’s journey to Beijing at this moment is a big step. Similar to Japan, South Korea is an ally of the United States, which provides Taiwan with defense weapons. On Monday, Lee, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, will go to a banquet that Xi is hosting. After meeting with Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Chinese parliament, and Premier Li Qiang, he will take a plane to Shanghai.

Since 2019, no South Korean leader has visited. Under Lee’s predecessor, the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was harshly critical of China, the relationship deteriorated. According to Mr. Park, Beijing has been taking use of the two nations’ shared history of resisting Japan in the 20th century. In Shanghai, Lee is scheduled to host a memorial service for activists who battled for Korea’s independence from Japan.

According to Mr. Park, Korea wishes to “strengthen its relationships with both Japan and China” even if it is “still showing all its deference towards China”.

Seoul has been balancing Beijing and Tokyo diplomatically for a long time. According to reports, Lee intends to travel to Japan later this month to meet Takaichi. Additionally, South Korea “respects the One China policy”—the diplomatic recognition that Beijing is the only Chinese government—Wi Sung-lac, the country’s national security director, said reporters on Friday.