President Lee Jae-myung said at the Korea-China summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju on the 1st, "The current Korea-China economic cooperation structure is changing from a vertical division-of-labor structure to a horizontal cooperation structure," adding, "The mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the two countries should also further develop in line with the trend of the times." In particular, he asked China to play an active role on North Korea-related issues for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Chinese President Xi Jinping replied, "I am willing to exchange in-depth views on issues of common concern."
In the afternoon, at Gyeongju National Museum, President Lee met President Xi Jinping, who paid a state visit for the first time in 11 years, and talked for about 100 minutes. Before the closed-door meeting, President Lee said, "Over the past 30-plus years, the mutually complementary cooperative relationship that Korea and China have developed has greatly contributed to China's rise as the world's No. 2 economic power and to Korea's leap to an advanced nation with global industrial competitiveness." He also noted that both leaders grew from heads of local governments into national leaders, adding, "This will be a good foundation for producing tangible outcomes in Korea-China relations that the two peoples can feel."
He also proposed strengthening communication to respond to North Korea issues. President Lee said, "When Korea and China develop a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship in step with the times, the importance of peace and stability in the region cannot be overemphasized," adding, "We highly evaluate the fact that conditions for engagement with North Korea are forming, as seen in the recent active high-level exchanges between China and North Korea." He continued, "We hope to leverage these conditions and strengthen strategic communication between Korea and China to resume dialogue with North Korea."
President Xi described Korea-China relations as "an important close neighbor that cannot move away and a cooperative partner inseparable from each other," and said, "Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 33 years ago, the two countries have actively promoted exchanges and cooperation in various fields, transcending differences in social systems and ideology, helping each other succeed and achieving common prosperity." He went on, "Advancing the sound and stable development of China-Korea relations is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and is the right choice that accords with the trend of the times."
President Xi said that in relations with Korea, he is maintaining "continuity" and "stability," adding, "By promoting the stable and long-term development of the China-Korea strategic cooperative partnership, we will inject more positive energy into the region's peace and development." He also said, "I am willing to exchange in-depth views with President Lee Jae-myung on bilateral relations (between Korea and China) and issues of common concern."
This summit also coincides with the period when, after the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) dispute in 2016, China's ban on Korean cultural imports remains in place, and when China, countering the United States' recent offensive of "an additional 100% tariff," imposed sanctions on five Hanwha Ocean affiliates in the U.S. At a press conference before the summit, President Lee also said, "(While current Korea-China relations) may not appear to have particular problems on the surface, it is difficult to say the relationship is fully normalized or recovered in substantive terms," adding, "We must go beyond simple recovery and find again the path of cooperation that helps each other."
The construction of our government's nuclear-powered submarines is also a sensitive issue. Immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump approved President Lee's request at the latest Korea-U.S. summit to allow the construction of nuclear-powered submarines, the Chinese government showed discomfort. Guo Jiakun, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said on the 30th of last month, "China hopes that South Korea and the United States will faithfully fulfill their nuclear nonproliferation obligations and refrain from actions that undermine regional peace and stability."