2025.12.08
From 6 to 7 December 2025, the Grandview Institution(GVI) and the Peninsula Institute for Strategic Affairs (PISA) jointly held the inaugural China-South Korea Next-Generation Policy Experts Dialogue in Beijing. The meeting brought together more than a dozen emerging scholars from both countries for in-depth discussions on three major topics: bilateral relations, economic cooperation, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The participating experts noted that China-South Korea relations are entering an important window of improvement. They emphasized that both sides should work to build a more autonomous framework for strategic understanding, reduce external interference, and enhance mutual understanding -including by strengthening people-to-people exchanges- so as to ease negative public perceptions.
In the economic field, experts observed that the structure of the China-South Korea economy has shifted toward a new landscape in which competition and cooperation coexist. Both sides underscored the importance of maintaining stable supply chains and explored opportunities to tap cooperation potential in emerging areas such as the digital economy and green industries. Experts suggested that upgrading the bilateral free trade agreement could inject new momentum into economic cooperation, while emphasizing the need to properly manage differences and avoid the politicization of economic issues.
On the Korean Peninsula issue, Chinese experts reaffirmed China’s long-standing principles of upholding denuclearization and resolving issues through dialogue, stressing that the current priority is to prevent conflict and strengthen crisis management. They noted that China is willing to play a constructive role by providing platforms to facilitate inter-Korean engagement and U.S.–DPRK dialogue. The South Korea side expressed hopes that China would play a more active role in advancing denuclearization and easing inter-Korean tensions. Both sides agreed that resolving the Peninsula issue ultimately depends on the efforts of the directly involved parties, while China’s role lies in creating a favorable external environment for dialogue.
The dialogue provided a candid platform for exchanges between experts from both countries. Both sides underscored the importance of China-South Korea relations for regional peace and prosperity and agreed to continue contributing ideas to the stable development of bilateral ties through Track II dialogue mechanisms in the future.
— Participants from South Korea:
Lee Wang-hwi, Professor, Ajou University
Lee Dong-min, President, Peninsula Institute for Strategic Affairs (PISA)
Choi Pil-ju, Professor, Department of International Studies, Sejong University
Choi Eunju, Research Fellow, Sejong Institute
Choi Jang-ho, Research Fellow, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Kim Kyu-beom, Research Fellow, Seoul National University
— Participants from China:
Ren Libo, Founder and President, GVI
Zha Daojiong, Professor, School of International Studies, Peking University
Zhang Yun, Professor, School of International Studies, Nanjing University
Cheng Xiaohe, Professor, School of International Studies, Renmin University of China
Li Tingting, Associate Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University
Quan Xiaoxing, Junior Research Fellow, GVI