Korea and China signed a 70 trillion won "won–yuan currency swap contract" on the 1st in Gyeongju on the occasion of a summit. Wi Sung-lac, director of the Office of National Security, said, "It is true there have been ups and downs in the development of Korea-China relations, but thanks to the Lee Jae-myung administration's China policy based on national interest and practicality, there was an effect of fully restoring Korea-China relations." The Korea-China currency swap is thus a measure symbolizing the normalization of bilateral relations.
The presidential office said that President Lee Jae-myung held a ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping to exchange several memorandums of understanding and contracts concluded between the two countries. The item that drew the most attention was the "won–yuan currency swap," concluded by the two Central Bank authorities for 70 trillion won (400 billion yuan) with a five-year maturity. Deputy Minister Wi said, "It is expected to contribute to the stability of the two countries' financial and foreign exchange markets and to boosting trade."
The two countries also agreed to activate a regular high-level communication channel and to strengthen cooperation to stabilize supply chains. To boost people-to-people exchanges between the two nations, they will also consider measures to facilitate mutual visits. Deputy Minister Wi said, "We pushed Korea-China economic cooperation as mutually beneficial cooperation based on horizontal cooperation, and worked to produce cooperative outcomes that the public can feel."
President Lee and President Xi also discussed peace on the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization. Deputy Minister Wi said, "We could clearly see that China's policy stance on peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is being maintained," adding, "Specifically, it did not get to the point of discussing what role to play in restarting (inter-Korean) dialogue, but they expressed an intention to cooperate for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula." However, Deputy Minister Wi said they did not discuss specific denuclearization measures that day.
The two leaders also discussed the recent issue of Chinese sanctions on Hanwha Ocean. Deputy Minister Wi said, "There was productive discussion on the Hanwha Ocean matter," explaining, "This issue is related to the U.S.-China trade dispute, and as U.S.-China issues are resolved, we came to expect that, in that atmosphere, there could be productive progress on the Hanwha Ocean (issue)."
On lifting the Chinese government's ban on Korean cultural content, there was "good discussion," and there was a consensus "to resolve it through working-level consultations and communication."
In addition, the two countries signed an "MOU on strengthening exchanges and cooperation in services trade" to establish an institutional foundation for bilateral economic cooperation through substantive progress in the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations on services and investment, and also concluded an MOU on cooperation in the silver industry and innovative startups, as well as a "China export plant quarantine requirements MOU" to facilitate the export of Korean agricultural products to China.
The two countries' police authorities also agreed on an "MOU on cooperation to respond to voice phishing and online fraud crimes" to jointly respond to transnational scam crimes. They also signed an "MOU on the Korea-China joint plan for economic cooperation (2026–2030)" to set a long-term direction for pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation between Korea and China.
Regarding the fact sheet on the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations recently agreed upon, Deputy Minister Wi said, "We are adjusting the detailed wording," adding, "There are things where the situation has progressed or new issues have been added." On nuclear-powered submarines, Wi explained, "If nuclear-powered submarine fuel is to be used for military purposes, it must be approved by the United States, so we focused the discussion on that part."