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Laura Bicker
China correspondent, reporting from Gyeongju

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

“No Trump!” a rally of hundreds shouted in the centre of South Korea’s capital Seoul over the weekend.

“No China,” chanted another rally nearby.

This is an indication of the diplomatic dance South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung will have to perform this week as he hosts the leaders of both the US and China.

Seoul is – and has long been – a key US ally. It still needs Washington’s protection, but it also needs China, its biggest trading partner and a vital market for exports.

After Lee visited the White House in August, South Korea thought it had appeased its powerful friend – Trump agreed to lower tariffs from 25% to 15%.

But then more than 300 South Koreans were detained in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in the US state of Georgia. This has shaken ties – especially because Hyundai is a major investor in the US.

Anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea has also grown steadily in recent years. Chinese interference became a common trope in conspiracy theories about former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol.

However Lee chooses to navigate between the world’s two biggest economies, it’s hard to imagine how he can afford to alienate either.

Read more about South Korea’s delicate dance between the US and China.