BEIJING: South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung arrived in China on Sunday, eager to boost economic ties with Seoul's largest trading partner while keeping a lid on potentially explosive issues. Lee is the first South Korean leader to visit Beijing in six years.
Lee, accompanied by a delegation of business and tech leaders, hopes to expand economic cooperation in meetings with President Xi Jinping and other top officials. And he hopes to possibly harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with Pyongyang. Seoul has for decades trodden a fine line between China, its top trading partner, and the United States, its chief defence guarantor.
Lee said in an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Friday that he "clearly affirms" that "respecting the 'one-China' principle and maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia are very important". On economic ties, Lee has called for South Korea and China to work towards "more horizontal and mutually beneficial" trade. He is bringing with him a large delegation of executives from some of South Korea's biggest and best-known firms. — AFP
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