South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung holds talks with China’s Xi Jinping in an effort to rebuild bilateral relations

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an effort to repair strained relations with Seoul’s largest trade partner.

Regional security and Beijing’s unofficial ban on Korean pop culture are also on the agenda at Monday’s meeting, their second summit since November, when Xi visited South Korea.

Given that China is a key economic partner, experts say Lee is seeking assurances that he will not weaponize the relationship over political tensions in the region. For weeks, China and Japan have been locked in a diplomatic spat over China’s claim to self-ruled Taiwan, which puts Seoul, a major regional power, in an awkward position.

Beijing has stepped up rhetoric against Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sana Takachi suggested in parliament that Tokyo could respond with its own self-defense forces in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

So the visit to Beijing at this time is an important step for Lee. Like Japan, South Korea is an ally of the United States, which supports Taiwan and provides weapons for its defense.

Xi is expected to hold a welcoming ceremony for Li at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to a report by state-run CCTV. Li, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, will meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and National Assembly Speaker Zhao Lijie before flying to Shanghai.

Speaking to Koreans in Beijing on Sunday, Lee said his visit would “serve as a new beginning to bridge the gap in Korea-China relations, normalize them and elevate them to a new level.”

This is the first visit by a South Korean leader since 2019. Relations deteriorated under Lee’s predecessor, President Yoon Suk-yeol, who faced impeachment and was a vocal critic of China.

Meanwhile, Park Seung-chan, a professor of China studies at Yongin University, said Xi’s eagerness to meet with Lee shows how much pressure he feels to find a regional partner. “China may be speaking in vague terms, but its demand is clear: take China’s side and criticize Japan.”

Mr. Park said Beijing was using the two countries’ shared history of fighting Japan in the 20th century. Lee is expected to hold a memorial service in Shanghai for activists who fought for Korea’s independence from Japan.

Mr. Park said that Korea “is still showing full respect to China,” but that it “wants to strengthen its relations with both Japan and China.”

Seoul has long been walking a diplomatic tightrope between Beijing and Tokyo. Lee is reportedly planning to visit Japan later this month to meet with Takaichi. And on Friday, South Korea’s National Security Director, Wee Sung-lak, told reporters that the country respects the “One China policy”—the diplomatic recognition that Beijing is the sole legitimate government of China.