South Korea Interested In Chinese Development

Recently, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung conducted a state visit to China. This is even more significant because, during the meeting, the South Korean president stated that 2026 can be defined as the first year of full-scale restoration of China–South Korean relations. This is even more notable due to the visit and statement coinciding with China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. The South Korean president has emphasised that he wishes South Korea, through cooperation, to benefit from China’s explicitly stated development plan.

It is also clear from the South Korean president heading a 2026 Economic Growth Strategy National Briefing within his home country that, in a highly volatile international environment, there is a shift toward finding certainty and developing long-term stability.

Seemingly, South Korea is very interested in the 15th Five-Year Plan due to its focus and concentration on new quality productive forces, modernised industrial systems, higher supply chain resilience, and, of course, artificial intelligence. This is not only a focus for China but also highlights a significant opportunity for potential partners to participate in further development.

It is also important that countries such as South Korea are looking specifically toward long-term planning for stability. In contrast to short-term stimulus packages that might exist in the U.S., for example, China’s long-term planning cultivates a more stable and secure environment that many are seeking.

China and South Korea both face the practical need for supply chain resilience. It is true that in recent years, due to a variety of reasons, external shocks have become more frequent, and global supply chains have increasingly been shaped by political situations. Therefore, the proposed emphasis on higher supply chain security is a very attractive prospect for countries such as South Korea. This highlights that South Korea is not interested in passively reacting to external uncertainties, but rather in securing strategically stable industrial anchors through cooperation with China.