President Lee Jae-myung met separately with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the 23rd (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit held in South Africa.
According to the Presidential Office that day, President Lee said in his meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi that "it is the role of politicians to manage bilateral relations in a stable manner," adding, "I hope the two countries can focus on areas where cooperation is possible and further advance the relationship by one step."
The Presidential Office said Prime Minister Takaichi also reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and the need for future-oriented cooperation, and that the two sides agreed to continue shuttle diplomacy (a method in which a third party travels back and forth to mediate without the parties meeting directly) and communicate more closely on various issues, including the economy and security.
Immediately after the meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi, President Lee met with Chinese Premier Li. President Lee proposed promoting practical cooperation, saying that the Korea-China summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju fully restored bilateral relations.
Premier Li said, "President Xi Jinping's state visit to Korea was successful," and noted that he hopes to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation on various pending issues and continue to develop bilateral relations from a long-term perspective. In response to President Lee's request to convey his regards to Xi and his expectation to meet at an early date, he replied, "I will do so."
The Presidential Office explained that "this meeting between President Lee and Premier Li is meaningful in that it continued the positive high-level exchange between the two countries based on the momentum for restoring Korea-China relations created by President Xi's state visit to Korea."
Meanwhile, President Lee also exchanged greetings and regards with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that day, in addition to Prime Minister Takaichi and Premier Li.