S. Korea's Lee Faces Delicate Balancing Act Between US and China at G-7 Summit

All eyes will be on whether new leader has to choose between the two superpowers

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL - As South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung gears up for his international diplomacy debut at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit next week, all eyes are on whether he will be made to pick sides in the Sino-American rivalry.

Mr Lee has acknowledged that the South Korea-US alliance remains the foundation of South Korea's diplomacy and security, and has pledged to strengthen the alliance along with the trilateral partnership with Japan.

But he has also said South Korea should not be made to choose between the United States and China and "put all our eggs in one basket".

Mr Lee was elected with a 49.42 per cent mandate in a snap election on June 3 after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid saw the former leader deposed by the country's Constitutional Court.

Mr Lee's win under the liberal flag, which traditionally prioritises relations with China and engagement with North Korea, has Washington watching his foreign policy directions closely, said Dr Lee Seong-hyon, a senior fellow at the Washington-based George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations.

During his election campaign, Mr Lee had taken a more centrist stance by repeatedly emphasising a non-committal "pragmatic diplomacy" to maximise South Korea's national interests.

Amid growing rivalry between the two superpowers, however, Mr Lee's vision, which requires a delicate balancing act between its biggest security ally, the US, and its largest trading partner, China, will likely be put to the test.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier cautioned allies against playing both sides by "seeking both economic cooperation with China and defence cooperation with the United States", during his speech at the Shangri La Dialogue, an annual defence and security forum, on May 31 in Singapore.