October 30, 2025
SEOUL – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Gimhae International Airport in Busan on Thursday — marking his first visit to South Korea in 11 years.
He was to meet US President Donald Trump for their first summit in six years and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday also for their first summit.
Xi landed at 10:30 a.m., kicking off a three-day state visit that coincides with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which opens Friday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. His official schedule was set to begin with a bilateral meeting with Trump.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry and the White House, the summit will take place around 11 a.m. at the Naraemaru reception hall inside Gimhae International Airport, where Trump, who traveled from Gyeongju, arrived at around 10:20 a.m.
The meeting is expected to last about two hours, with Trump scheduled to depart for Washington at 12:55 p.m., right after the summit. It will be their first encounter since June 2019, when they met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan — and the first since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.
Xi’s visit to South Korea is his first since July 2014, when he met then-President Park Geun-hye. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the South Korea–China Free Trade Agreement.