SK-China Leaders Agree on 7 Key Cooperation Areas, Including Startups

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to South Korea after 11 years and held his first South Korea-China summit with President Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju. This visit, the first since the tenure of former President Park Geun-hye in 2014 and the first summit held since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration, is evaluated as an important occasion demonstrating a strong will for improving relations between the two countries. The summit began with an official welcoming ceremony at the Gyeongju National Museum, and Hwangnam-ppang, a specialty pastry from Gyeongju gifted by President Lee, added to the warm atmosphere. A total of seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed during this summit. The key contents are as follows: * **Innovation and Startup Partnership Program:** Establishment of a public-private cooperation network to connect the startup ecosystems of both countries and support information sharing, joint R&D, personnel exchange, and joint entry into third countries. * **Strengthening Financial Cooperation:** Signing of a KRW-CNY currency swap agreement. * **Economic Cooperation Roadmap:** Development of a joint economic cooperation plan for 2026-2030. * **Service Trade:** Expansion of exchange and cooperation in the service industry sector. * **Agricultural Trade:** Agreement on phytosanitary requirements for the export of fresh persimmons from Korea to China. * **Social Security:** Establishment of a joint response system to combat voice phishing and online fraud. * **Addressing Aging Society:** Cooperation in the silver economy sector. President Xi Jinping put forward four proposals to open a new chapter in Korea-China relations: ▲strengthening strategic communication and enhancing mutual trust ▲deepening mutually beneficial cooperation (accelerating FTA Phase 2, cooperation in emerging fields like AI and bio) ▲elevating public sentiment and promoting people-to-people exchanges ▲tightening multilateral cooperation and jointly promoting peaceful development. President Xi emphasized that China and Korea are "important neighbors who cannot be moved and indispensable cooperative partners," expressing China's robust economic growth and its will for high-level external openness. President Lee Jae-myung emphasized strategic cooperation in various fields, including people's livelihoods, digital innovation, and AI utilization, amidst a rapidly changing environment. President Lee stressed that Korea and China are "not just neighbors but indispensable partners," stating his intention to provide welfare to the people of both countries through strengthened mutually beneficial cooperation and stable production and supply chains. He also mentioned supporting China's 15th Five-Year Plan and the hosting of the 2026 APEC Summit. Both leaders agreed to further mature the strategic cooperative partnership between Korea and China. This summit took place on the occasion of the 2025 APEC Summit, and the pleasant interaction between the two leaders through a robot butterfly performance also garnered attention. In his closing speech at APEC, President Lee emphasized that "peace on the Korean Peninsula is an essential condition for prosperity in the Asian region" and stated that proactive measures for inter-Korean peace would continue. Experts evaluate this summit as a signal for the restoration of Korea-China relations after 11 years, particularly expecting the innovation and startup partnership to become an important foundation for rebuilding trust and future technology cooperation between the two countries. President Xi departed for home on the evening of the 1st after the summit and dinner, and China is scheduled to host the APEC Summit in Shenzhen in 2026.