Xi Jinping Visits Korea Today... President Lee: "Accelerating Korea-China FTA Negotiations on Services and Investment" [Gyeongju APEC]
by Lim Chulyoung
Published 30 Oct.2025 09:30(KST)
Updated 30 Oct.2025 13:44(KST)
Interview with Xinhua News Agency
President Xi visits Gyeongju for APEC... Korea-China summit on the 1st
"Mature development of strategic cooperative partnership... Key partner for supply chain security"
Korean Peninsula situation: "China's role needed to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue"
President Lee Jaemyung, in his first summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, stated, "I hope to expand the channels for economic cooperation consultations between the two countries and accelerate negotiations on the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) regarding services and investment, so as to establish a new institutional foundation through substantive progress." President Xi, at the invitation of President Lee, is making a state visit to Korea for the first time in 11 years to attend the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which will be held in Gyeongju from October 30 to November 1. On November 1, President Lee and President Xi will also hold their first Korea-China summit meeting.
In an interview with China's Xinhua News Agency released on October 30, President Lee said, "President Xi's attendance at this APEC summit is significant in that it strengthens future-oriented regional cooperation in the region through APEC."
President Lee added, "President Xi's state visit to Korea for the first time in 11 years on the occasion of the APEC summit, and the first Korea-China summit meeting since the launch of the new administration, is of particular significance at the bilateral level as well." He continued, "Together with President Xi, I will seek ways to continue the mature development of the Korea-China strategic cooperative partnership, even amid the rapid changes in the domestic and international environment since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries."
President Lee also assessed that China remains Korea's largest trading partner and a key partner for supply chain stability. He emphasized that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, Korea and China have formed mutually complementary industrial structures and supply chains, cooperating closely, and that trade and investment relations between the two countries remain solid and continue to develop.
President Lee expressed his hope to hold in-depth discussions with President Xi on industrial and supply chain cooperation during the APEC summit. He also stated that, in addition to strengthening cooperation in various fields such as culture and the environment, the two countries will continue to expand people-to-people exchanges.
Regarding economic and scientific-technological cooperation, President Lee proposed that the two countries pool their wisdom to develop a mature strategic cooperative partnership based on "good-faith competition" and "horizontal cooperation." He said, "As China's industrial competitiveness and advanced technological capabilities have greatly improved, competition between companies from both countries has become more prominent." President Lee particularly stressed the urgent need to identify mutually complementary cooperation models that can enhance the vitality of companies and industries in both countries in the economic sector.
On the situation on the Korean Peninsula, President Lee noted that China's constructive role is urgently needed. He said, "Based on the consensus that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of Korea and China, we will strengthen strategic communication and work to achieve denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula." President Lee emphasized that China's constructive role is essential for the substantive resolution of the nuclear issue and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.
President Lee also expressed his intention to visit China in the near future. Referring to his multiple visits to China during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province, he said, "In order to set the right direction for the development of Korea-China relations and maintain the momentum of mutually beneficial cooperation, it is most important to deepen political trust and maintain the flow of strategic communication through reciprocal visits between the leaders of the two countries."
Meanwhile, regarding China taking over as the chair of next year's APEC summit, President Lee pledged to support China in further developing the agendas raised by Korea as this year's chair, such as cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) and responses to demographic changes.
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