Description: South Korea’s newly elected President Lee Jae Myung had a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping where they discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries in light of global geopolitical uncertainties and instability. The presidents apparently exchanged opinions on the current regional situation and pledged to jointly invest efforts in stabilizing the turbulent Indo – Pacific. Lee and Xi also touched on subjects such as closer economic cooperation and strengthening defensive ties, emphasizing the close cooperation between the US and South Korea. President Xi stated that a stable China – South Korea partnership would instigate future stability in the region and bolster alliances on all fronts making the region more resilient towards external threats.
Impact: President Lee’s rapprochement towards China would significantly improve South Korea’s strategic portfolio as the newly established government is forced to maneuver around Trump’s conditional and unforeseen foreign policies. China’s expected positive response to South Korea’s diplomatic efforts would also spell benefits for Xi’s government as they are engaged in high stakes trade negotiations with the US as they also approach Asian countries offering alleviated rare earth mineral exports. South Korea’s multi vector foreign policy approach in the initial stages of the new government could potentially contribute towards improving the relative stability in the region as they counterbalance their bilateral ties with the US and China.