Korea-China summit held for the first time in two years following the APEC summit
President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is visiting Lima, Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, said at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 15th (local time), “In response to North Korea’s series of provocations, the war in Ukraine, and Russia-North Korea military cooperation. “I hope that Korea and China will cooperate in promoting stability and peace in the region,” he emphasized. President Xi said, “No matter how the situation changes, let us stick to the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, stick to the direction of good neighborliness and friendship, and stick to the goal of mutual benefit and coexistence.”
It has been two years since President Yoon and President Xi met at the G20 summit held in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022. As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to increase the level of pressure on China, including tariffs, with his return to power, some analysts say that China has reached out to Korea.
President Yoon and President Xi held a meeting at a hotel in Lima, Peru, on this day and exchanged opinions on issues such as ways to revitalize economic cooperation, culture, and human exchanges between the two countries, and the dispatch of troops to the Korean Peninsula and North Korea to Russia. In his opening remarks, President Yoon said, “China is an important country with which we cooperate closely in various fields, including security, economy, culture, and human exchanges,” and added, “The two countries will solidify their strategic cooperative partnership based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and common interests.” “I look forward to further development,” he said. He added, “I hope that Korea and China will continue close communication and cooperation in the face of various challenges amidst the global security and economic order.”
President Xi also said, “(South Korea and China) must make full use of the advantages of geographical proximity, cultural communication, and economic integration,” adding, “We will deepen exchanges and cooperation and promote the healthy and stable development of the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership.” “By doing so, we must bring welfare to the people of both countries and contribute more to regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity,” he said.
It was reported that the two countries also discussed President Xi’s visit to Korea on the occasion of the APEC summit to be held in Gyeongju next year. President Xi has not visited Korea since 2014 at the invitation of former President Park Geun-hye.
The meeting lasted 29 minutes from 11:06 a.m. This is 4 minutes longer than the 25-minute meeting two years ago. Previously, as the Korea-China summit failed to be held at the APEC summit held in San Francisco last year, the meeting between President Yoon and President Xi was limited to a principled exchange of words while standing in the conference room for about three minutes. At that time, China held a summit meeting with the United States and Japan during the APEC period, leaving only Korea out.
This meeting took place in the context of President-elect Trump’s return to power, North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia, and hostilities with the Ukrainian military. There is analysis that China is making a conciliatory gesture toward Korea as it has recently shown signs of improving relations with Korea, such as deciding to temporarily implement a visa-free entry policy for Koreans until the end of next year.
Lima (Peru) = Reporter Hwang Hyeong-jun constant25@donga.com
Source: www.donga.com
