President Lee Jae-myung will dispatch a special envoy to China on the 24th to deliver a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung explained at a briefing on the 22nd that 'the Chinese special envoy will stay in China from the 24th to the 27th, meeting with key figures and conveying President Lee's message on ways to enhance the friendship between the two countries.'
The director general of the special envoy is former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok, with Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Tae-nyeon and Park Jeong accompanying him. Roh Jae-heon, the son of former President Roh Tae-woo and chairman of the East Asia Cultural Foundation, will also serve as a member of the delegation.
The special envoy is scheduled to meet with Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister and head of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, on the 25th, and with Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, on the 26th.
Spokesperson Kang noted, 'A letter from President Lee will also be delivered (to President Xi),' adding that 'the letter contains a message to create a Korea-China relationship that practically contributes to the livelihoods of the peoples of both countries.'
The period during which the special envoy visits China overlaps with the timing of the Korea-U.S. summit. This appears to demonstrate the Lee Jae-myung administration's intent not to overlook Korea-China relations ahead of the summit. It is also possible that the letter will include an invitation for President Xi to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju.
Earlier, President Lee dispatched special envoys to 11 countries. This Chinese special envoy is the last envoy sent on the occasion of the new government's inauguration.