South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in China on Sunday as Beijing looks to deepen ties with the nearby country after heightened tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan, a self-ruled island it claims as its sovereign territory. China's official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday afternoon that Lee arrived in Beijing. During his stay, Lee will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, their second meeting in just two months. Regional security and Beijing's unofficial ban on Korean pop culture are also on the agenda for Monday's meeting, which is their second summit since November, when Xi visited South Korea. Lee's four-day trip is his first visit to China since taking office in June. It comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and Japan, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that her country's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan. Beijing ramped up the rhetoric against Japan after its prime minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in parliament that Tokyo could respond with its own self defence force in case of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Lee will attend a banquet hosted by Xi on Monday. He will then meet China's Premier Li Qiang and the chairman of parliament, Zhao Leji, before flying to Shanghai. Speaking before Korean residents in Beijing, Lee said his visit would "serve as a new starting point to fill in the gaps in Korea-China relations, restore them to normal and upgrade them to a new level". This is the first visit by a South Korean leader since 2019. The relationship soured under Lee's predecessor, impeached ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was very critical of China. On the other side, Xi's eagerness to meet Lee signals the pressure he faces in finding a regional ally, Park Seung-chan, professor of China studies at Yongin University told the BBC. "China may beat around the bush but its demand is clear: side with China and denounce Japan," Park said. Seoul has long walked a diplomatic tightrope between Beijing and Tokyo. Lee is reportedly planning to visit Japan later this month to meet Takaichi. And on Friday, South Korea's national security director Wi Sung-lac told reporters the country "respects the One China policy" — the diplomatic acknowledgment that Beijing is the only Chinese government. Security on the Korean Peninsula will also be part of the discussions with China, Wi told reporters. Lee has sought to engage North Korea diplomatically, but there has been little progress so far. He needs Chinese cooperation in pressuring the North's Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons. Beijing is the dictator's biggest supporter, economically and diplomatically, Russia aside. "China is a very important cooperative partner in moving toward peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said on Sunday. Earlier in the day Seoul's military said Pyongyang fired ballistic missiles off its east coast. And on Monday the North's state news agency said the country test-fired hypersonic missiles to assess deterrence capabilities following recent developments, a reference to the US's capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. — Agencies
