CCP seeks to control optics of Lee visit, academic saysBy Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerChina’s state-run Xinhua news agency’s near-exclusive coverage of Monday’s China-South Korea meeting highlighted Beijing’s anxiety over the political optics of the visit and its desire to control the narrative, Tunghai University Cross-Strait Research Center deputy executive director Hung Pu-chao (洪浦釗) said yesterday. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as part of Lee’s four-day trip to China, his first since taking office in June last year. Xinhua had near-exclusive coverage of the Lee-Xi meeting, showing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was eager to set a positive tone for the event, Hung said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung inspect an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony for the South Korean leader at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Discussions between Xi and Lee were focused on “resolving bilateral disputes,” and, therefore, issues involving third parties were largely avoided, he added.

Source: Taipei Times January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC