SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will send a special delegation to China from August 24-27, his spokesperson said on Friday, as Seoul and Beijing increasingly align in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy.
The delegation will deliver a message from Lee emphasising the continued development of the countries’ strategic partnership, said the spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung.
China is South Korea’s biggest trading partner, and diplomatic ties between the two have improved since a 2017 dispute over South Korea’s deployment of a U.S. missile defence system, which Beijing opposed.
Lee, who won a decisive victory in a June snap election, has adopted a more conciliatory tone towards China – the world’s second largest economy – highlighting its role as a key trading partner. He has expressed hesitation to take a firm stance on the security tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The delegation plans to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to South Korea’s presidential office.
“A healthy, stable and continuously deepening China-Republic of Korea relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and is also conducive to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said on Friday.
While Seoul managed to lower Trump’s tariffs on South Korean goods from 25% to 15% in a July trade deal, the new administration has been forced to take measures to support firms in managing the trade curbs and exploring new markets.
Officials in Beijing are also exploring ways to diversify Chinese exports away from the U.S. – the world’s top consumer market – in case a lasting trade truce proves elusive and Trump reinstates steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul and Laurie Chen in Beijing; Editing by Ed Davies and Clelia Oziel)
