(Gyeongju = Yonhap News) Reporters Lim Hyeong-seop, Lee Sang-hyeon, and Hwang Yun-gi = President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit meeting at the Gyeongju National Museum on the afternoon of the 1st and discussed peace issues on the Korean Peninsula and ways to expand exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
President Lee, who took the helm first, said,"We cannot emphasize enough the importance of stability in the region," and added,"I hope that South Korea and China will strengthen strategic communication to resume dialogue with North Korea."
In particular, he evaluated that"high-level exchanges between China and North Korea have been active recently," and that "this is a very positive sign that conditions for engagement with North Korea are being formed."
In response, Xi Jinping said,"China is willing to strengthen communication with the South Korean side, jointly respond to challenges, promote the stable and long-term development of the China-South Korea strategic cooperative partnership, and inject more positive energy into the peace and development of the region."
The two leaders also unanimously emphasized the need to develop relations between the two countries.
The president evaluated that"the mutually complementary cooperative relationship that Korea and China have developed over the past 30 years has greatly contributed to China's rise to the world's second-largest economy and our country's leap forward as an advanced country with global industrial competitiveness."
He also said,"Currently, economic cooperation between Korea and China is changing from a vertical division of labor structure to a horizontal structure," and "In line with the times, the relationship between the two countries should further develop into a reciprocal structure."
Xi Jinping also said,"China and South Korea are important and close neighbors who cannot be separated and inseparable cooperative partners," and looked back,"Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have achieved mutual prosperity by helping each other succeed by overcoming differences in social systems and ideology and promoting exchanges and cooperation in various fields."
He also said,"Promoting the healthy and stable development of China-South Korea relations is always the right choice that conforms to the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries and the trend of the times," adding,"China attaches great importance to China-South Korea relations and maintains continuity and stability in its policy toward South Korea."
The president also highlighted the two sides' similar political paths, saying,"The two of us have something in common: we both grew up as national leaders, breathing alongside the people from the local level. (This experience) will serve as a good foundation for creating tangible results that both our people can feel."
Xi Jinping also responded, saying,"Since President Lee's election last June, we have maintained communication in various ways, leading to a stable start in China-South Korea relations," and "I am willing to have an in-depth exchange of opinions with the President on bilateral relations and issues of common interest."
Meanwhile, the meeting lasted 97 minutes, from 3:48 PM to 5:25 PM.
Compared to the 87-minute South Korea-U.S. summit held on the 29th of last month, the meeting lasted 10 minutes longer, and 56 minutes longer than the 41-minute South Korea-Japan summit held on the 30th of last month.
In addition, among the major bilateral meetings held in the wake of the APEC summit, the US-China summit lasted 100 minutes and the China-Japan summit lasted 30 minutes.
hysup@yna.co.kr
