Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold high-stakes talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday, November 1, 2025, wrapping up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju where Beijing and Washington struck a surprise truce in their escalating trade war. On his first visit to South Korea in over a decade, Xi has dominated the proceedings after meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in nearby Busan on Thursday, where the duo agreed to ease tariffs that had rattled global markets and snarled supply chains. Trump opted to jet back to Washington post-talks, leaving Xi to champion multilateralism against "hegemonism" at the forum, which adopted the "Gyeongju Declaration" emphasizing free trade and AI cooperation.

At the summit's closing ceremony, Xi announced that next year's APEC will convene in Shenzhen, southern China, signaling Beijing's intent to lead Pacific economic dialogues amid U.S. protectionism. Earlier Friday, Xi held his first formal summit with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney since 2017, vowing to reset bilateral ties strained by Huawei arrests and trade spats; he extended an invitation for Carney to visit China, underscoring efforts to mend fences with Western allies. Xi also met Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for the first time since her October appointment, where she pushed for a "strategic and mutually beneficial" partnership while candidly addressing flashpoints like territorial disputes in the East China Sea and Taiwan tensions.

The Xi-Lee meeting marks their inaugural face-to-face since Lee's June election victory, navigating Seoul's delicate balancing act between economic giant China—its top trading partner—and security ally the United States. Ties hit rock bottom in 2016 over South Korea's deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile system, prompting Beijing's economic retaliation including tourism bans and business curbs that cost Seoul billions. Cultural frictions, such as China's claims on kimchi's origins, have further soured public sentiment; Stanford's Gi-Wook Shin notes that mutual perceptions remain deeply negative, influencing foreign policy in a nation where opinion polls heavily sway decisions.

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Lee aims to reassure Xi that Seoul's recent multibillion-dollar U.S. economic pact doesn't sideline pragmatic ties with Beijing, seeking stability in bilateral trade worth over $300 billion annually. Harvard's Seong-Hyon Lee predicts the South Korean leader will prioritize "a predictable floor" in relations to shield exporters from volatility. Looming large is Beijing's bond with nuclear-armed North Korea, still technically at war with the South; Lee plans to press Xi on denuclearization and peninsula peace, despite Pyongyang's preemptive dismissal of such hopes as a "pipedream."

As APEC concludes with pledges on population aging and digital economies, the Xi-Lee summit could thaw frosty dynamics, boosting tourism visas and cultural exchanges announced earlier. Yet, with Trump’s tariffs lingering and North Korean missile tests fresh, analysts warn of fragile progress—Seoul's tightrope walk tests its middle-power clout in a polarized Asia-Pacific.

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