China South Korea Photo:VCG

At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit China on September 17, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Monday. 
 
Chinese observers said that China-South Korea relations have entered a "bouncing back" period and are at a sensitive juncture, with both positive signs and actual challenges. Cho Hyun's high-stakes visit is crucial to paving the way to possible high-level engagement at the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea and exchanges on bilateral and regional topics, as well as how to inject more positive elements into the relationship. 

The trip will be Cho Hyun's first visit to China since taking office in July and he is expected to have his first one-on-one talks with Wang since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung government in early June, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Yonhap, in a Chinese language report, pointed out the detail that former South Korean foreign minister Cho Tae-yul visited China in May 2025, and according to convention, it should be China paying a return visit. However, considering that Cho Hyun has just recently taken up his new post, South Korea believes there is no need to rigidly adhere to the convention. 

Lü Chao, a Korean Peninsula affairs expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday that South Korea has shown that it attaches great importance to China ties, and the two sides can communicate on how to get rid of the negative impact from the previous South Korean administration and develop the bilateral relationship step by step. 

The expert cited South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's condemnation of rallies targeting Chinese tourists as a positive sign in a complex relationship amid adjustment. Chinese embassy to South Korea and Chinese netizens also paid tribute to a South Korean Coast Guard officer who died after rescuing an elderly Chinese person during high tide. Roh Jae-heon, the eldest son of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo and chairman of the East Asia Culture Center in Seoul, was appointed as new ambassador to China. 

Lü believes that Cho Hyun's visit is an opportunity to comprehensively convey the new South Korean administration's China policy.

President Lee's remarks in August about adjusting "security with the US, economy with China" strategy have garnered widespread attention and different interpretations. 

Yonhap also noted Cho's visit to China comes as the Lee government seeks to manage ties with Beijing while bolstering the alliance with the US and trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan.
 
Some pro-US figures may advocate for adjustment to a stance closer with the US and distancing from China economically, but "that leads nowhere," as South Korea's market is in China, Lü said. 

As for security cooperation with its traditional ally the US, China's consistent stance is that such cooperation should not target a third party, Lü said.
Amid a fast-changing geopolitical landscape and global trade frictions, South Korea is facing diplomatic challenges and Cho Hyun's China visit will be a touchstone of bilateral ties, analysts said. 

In a phone call in July with Cho Hyun, Wang Yi said that China and South Korea should be genuine strategic cooperative partners and work together to elevate bilateral relations to higher levels. For that goal, the two sides should maintain policy stability, Wang said, adding that China has always attached great importance to developing cooperation with South Korea, and has maintained a consistent and stable policy toward South Korea.

Wang expressed hope that South Korea will likewise ensure that its China policy is stable, sustainable and predictable without vacillation.

The two countries should also uphold independence and autonomy. China-South Korea relations are based on shared interests and have brought benefits to the two peoples. They are not targeted at any third party, nor should they be constrained by any third party, said Wang.