South Korean President Lee Jae-myung began a four-day state visit to China on the 4th, and on the 6th will meet separately with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and NPC Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji.
Korean media quoted sources as saying that Lee Jae-myung and Li Qiang are expected to discuss ways to deepen economic and cultural cooperation between China and South Korea, and that with Zhao Leji, they are also expected to reach a consensus on the importance of promoting bilateral exchanges and cooperation, and jointly discuss specific plans. On the 6th, Lee Jae-myung will transfer from Beijing to Shanghai for a two-day visit, and on the 7th will visit the former site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, dating to the period of Japanese colonial rule. In a speech at the China-Korea Business Forum on the 5th, Lee mentioned that "Koreans get off work on Fridays and go to Shanghai," describing it as a new trend among young people.
On Monday, China and South Korea signed 15 documents covering deepened cooperation in sectors such as industry, the environment, intellectual property, and more. In industry, the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and China's Ministry of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a new business cooperation dialogue mechanism, agreeing to set up a regular consultation mechanism and seek ways to expand industrial cooperation and exchanges between the two countries. The Blue House said that this move upgraded previously irregular ministerial meetings into regular and systematic consultative dialogues. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen industrial park cooperation, agreeing to further promote investment in each other's industrial parks.
In the field of technological innovation, the two sides signed memoranda on technological innovation cooperation to jointly address global challenges by expanding exchanges among researchers, and on digital technology cooperation. They also signed documents in areas including SME cooperation, intellectual property, environment, transportation, food, and child welfare, as well as a document on the Korean side donating a Qing Dynasty stone lion statue to China, creating an opportunity to expand cultural cooperation.