South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a four-day visit harbouring hopes of improving political and business relations between the North Asian neighbours.
Mr Moon was accompanied by more than 300 executives from South Korean companies including Samsung, Hyundai and LG, which have been frozen out of doing business with China after a disagreement over South Korea’s deployment of a US anti-missile system.
And a thaw in relations between Seoul and Beijing since an agreement in October has yet to translate into much business. South Korean products — from pop music to lithium batteries — continue to be hostage to the wider geopolitics of the East Asia region, principally the relationship between Beijing, Seoul and Pyongyang.