South Korea, China agree to launch diplomatic and security dialogue

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang agreed on Sunday (May 26) to launch diplomatic and security dialogues and restart free trade agreement talks, Yoon’s office said.

Yin Fubi and Li Keqiang met in Seoul a day before a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the first trilateral talks among the three countries this year. More than four years.

China and U.S. allies South Korea and Japan are trying to deal with growing distrust amid competition between Beijing and Washington and tensions over Taiwan.

Low expectations While a formal meeting is unlikely at the trilateral summit, diplomats and officials said even a handshake would help maintain at least some high-level diplomacy after years of deteriorating relations among the three countries.

Officials and diplomats said the two leaders could make progress in practical areas of cooperation such as people-to-people exchanges and consular affairs.

Yoon told Li that South Korea and China should not only work together to promote common interests based on mutual respect, but also work together to meet challenges on regional and global issues, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s conflict with Hamas and global economic uncertainty.

“Just as South Korea and China have jointly overcome various difficulties and contributed to each other’s development and growth over the past 30 years, I hope that we can continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation even in the face of today’s complex global crises,” Yoon said at the start of the talks, according to his office.

Yoon called on China to play a greater role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, especially as North Korea continues to develop nuclear missiles and strengthen military cooperation with Russia, and said North Korea is about to launch another spy satellite using intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

Li told Yin that the two countries should oppose raising economic and trade issues to political or security issues and should work to maintain a stable supply chain, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.

Li Keqiang expressed that China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Tajikistan in the fields of high-end manufacturing, new energy, artificial BroadCast Unitedligence, biomedicine and so on.

China will further expand market access, strengthen protection for foreign investment, and welcomes Samsung and other Korean companies to expand investment and cooperation.