Editorial | For South Korea to reset relations with China, it must withstand US pressure
The South Korean president’s visit to China was a sign of a more pragmatic approach that departs from that of his US-leaning predecessor
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has completed only seven months in office after tumultuous domestic politics resulted in the ousting of his predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol. But already, there is little question his first year will be remembered for his industrious efforts to restore relations with China while maintaining close ties with the United States.
Lee is taking a pragmatic approach that is a marked departure from the US-leaning stance of his predecessor. To be sure, it is largely a balancing act between a trade partner and a defence partner but still, it is a more cautious approach than Japan’s. Lee called his visit “an important opportunity to make 2026 the first year of full-scale restoration of Korea-China relations”.
The biggest test in the reset of China-South Korean relations is whether Seoul can stand up to pressure from the US to station more troops and even nuclear weapons on its soil. American nuclear weapons based in South Korea would be seen as targeting China rather than nuclear-armed North Korea. At the summit, Lee made little progress on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, with Xi agreeing only on the need to reopen dialogue with the North.