President Lee Jae Myung’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping was a study in contrasts, delivering clear economic wins but also highlighting a series of frustrating diplomatic dead-ends. The visit captured the essence of South Korea’s modern challenge: trying to get rich with one partner while staying secure with another.
The “win” was on the balance sheet. The two nations signed seven new economic agreements, including a currency swap. This was the narrative pushed by Chinese state media and a tangible result President Lee can point to as a success of his engagement policy.
The “dead-end” was North Korea. Lee’s flagship diplomatic effort—to get Xi’s help in restarting talks with Pyongyang—was a complete failure. It was publicly and immediately rejected by North Korea as a “pipe dream,” a humiliating political blow that showed the limits of Chinese-backed diplomacy.
Another “dead-end” was the U.S.-China stalemate. The summit, following a visit by U.S. President Trump, forced Lee to address the THAAD missile dispute. This U.S.-linked security issue remains a major obstacle in Seoul-Beijing relations, and the summit offered no new path forward.
Finally, the protests in Seoul against Chinese influence showed that the economic “win” is not universally celebrated. President Lee is left to manage the public’s anxiety, the North’s hostility, and the U.S.-China rivalry, making the summit’s economic gains feel like a small consolation prize.