Minister Cho Tae-yeol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 21st, "With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit as an opportunity, we will work together to ensure that President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea can take place and a new turning point in the relationship between the two countries can be established."
On the same day, Minister Cho expressed expectations that, as an opportunity for President Xi's visit to South Korea, they would actively promote mutually beneficial practical cooperation projects that will help improve the livelihoods of the people of both countries during the opening remarks of a foreign ministers' meeting held in Tokyo with Wang Yi, head of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (who also serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs).
The APEC summit is scheduled to be held in Gyeongju, South Korea, from late October to early November this year. During this day's meeting, the two sides are expected to have discussed various cooperation measures regarding President Xi's attendance at the APEC summit.
In addition, it is expected that discussions will also cover the conflict surrounding the steel structures installed by China in the Special Measures for the Han River and Yellow Sea (PMZ), the recent easing expectations regarding the "Korean Wave restriction" policy ('Hanhanryeong'), and the activation of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries as a result of South Korea's temporary visa exemption for Chinese group tourists in the coming third quarter.
Wang Yi noted in his opening remarks that "China and South Korea are inseparable neighbors and partners," and added, "For the peace and stability of our region and the world, both countries can make significant contributions."
The South Korea-China foreign ministers' meeting was held for the first time in six months after taking place in New York, United States, in September of last year.