- White House has said US President Donald Trump, who will also visit South Korea, will hold summit with Xi

ISTANBUL

Beijing on Friday said Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to South Korea next week, his first in 11 years.

The trip to South Korea, the first since 2014, comes at the invitation of President Lee Jae Myung, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Xi will fly to South Korea’s southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 30, and the trip concludes on Nov. 01, it added. Seoul has confirmed a state visit by Xi.

The Chinese president will also hold a summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Oct. 30, the White House said on Thursday.

South Korea will host leaders of 21-member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Gyeongju between Oct. 31 and Nov. 01.

He last visited South Korea in 2014 under the then-conservative President Park Geun-hye, when bilateral ties were at their “peak."

Xi had reportedly supported Park's “Dresden Declaration,” which incorporated the idea of a Demilitarized Military Zone (DMZ) as World Peace Park. The DMZ divided the Korean Peninsula into North and South Koreas.

The 72-year-old Chinese leader also delivered a public lecture at Seoul National University (SNU), highlighting historical solidarity against Japanese aggression during World War II.

However, ties soured in 2017 after the US deployed its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in South Korea, which hosts over 28,500 American troops under a bilateral defense treaty.

China and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations in August 1992. The trade volume between South Korea and China reached $267.6 billion in 2024.

Meeting with Trump

The Beijing statement released Friday did not mention Xi’s scheduled meeting with Trump, as confirmed by the White House a day earlier.

Trump and Xi have spoken at least three times this year, the latest in September, when the two leaders, among other things, struck a deal over TikTok's operations in the US.

The leaders of the world’s two largest economies last met in person in 2019, during Trump’s first term at the White House.

Beijing and Washington are engaged in high-level tariff talks and are expected to reach a conclusion in the coming days as their top trade negotiators are set to meet in Malaysia.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead their delegations in Kuala Lumpur, where Trump will attend a summit of Southeast Asian nations on Sunday.

The truce on US tariffs on Chinese imports ends next month.

Malaysia, the current chair of the ASEAN bloc, will host the three-day meeting from Sunday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said Premier Li Qiang will attend the 28th China-ASEAN Summit, the 28th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, the 20th East Asia Summit, and the fifth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Leaders’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 27 and 28.

Before flying to Malaysia, Li will pay an official visit to Singapore between Oct. 25 and Oct. 26.