President Lee Jae Myung says he believes China’s ban on Korean cultural content will be eased gradually and in a methodical, step-by-step manner.

Lee made the remark Wednesday during a press conference in Shanghai after being asked when he thinks the issue will yield substantial progress. 

The president said the Chinese government, which has continually denied there is a ban on Korean cultural content, had something different to say on the matter.

Lee said that during their summit on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned two Chinese proverbs: “Three feet of ice does not form in a single day, nor does it melt all at once,” and “When the melon is ripe, it falls off the stem naturally.”

Lee said he interprets those statements as an expression of Beijing’s clear intent to work toward easing the ban in an orderly fashion. 

The president said spring does not come suddenly either, adding that substantive talks on the matter will take place in line with Xi’s instructions for the related agency.

Using China’s wording, Lee said he is confident that the cultural content issue will be resolved in “a healthy, valuable and orderly manner.”

China has unofficially banned South Korean music, dramas and films since 2016, when Seoul announced the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.