25 January 2026

South Korea Can Stand Up to China With Its Allies, Seoul Has Enough Leverage to Push Back

Victor Cha 

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is pulling out all the stops to improve ties with Beijing. During a four-day state visit to China in early January, he snapped a selfie with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a new Xiaomi smartphone that his hosts had given him, told an audience that he sought to “upgrade” Chinese-South Korean relations, and signed more than a dozen agreements on topics as varied as trade, climate, and transportation. This followed the two leaders’ long conversation on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea in early November, where Lee regally welcomed

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