South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their second bilateral summit in January 2026 during Lee’s first state visit to Beijing since taking office in mid-2025, producing agreements on trade, technology, investment, and environmental cooperation while both sides endorsed a “new phase” of relations and reciprocal high-level exchanges. This built on an earlier November 2025 encounter and reflected mutual economic priorities amid tensions with Japan over Taiwan policy and broader U.S.-China dynamics. No further Xi-Lee meetings have been confirmed since January, though Seoul continues to pursue balanced diplomacy with Beijing alongside its U.S. alliance and trilateral coordination with Washington and Tokyo. Upcoming multilateral forums such as APEC or potential follow-on bilateral visits could create additional opportunities for engagement before year-end, while North Korea-related security issues and trade negotiations remain key variables that traders monitor for signals of another high-level encounter.