President Lee Jae Myung’s special envoys to China met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday and delivered Lee’s personal letter for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The trip came as Lee left for Washington earlier in the day for summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (U.S. time) after wrapping up his two-day visit to Japan.
After arriving in Beijing, the delegation, led by former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, met with Wang in the afternoon and delivered Lee’s personal letter for Xi while explaining the government’s foreign and other policies.
At the meeting, Wang highlighted China has continued to regard its relations with South Korea as important, marking the 33rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations Sunday.
“By expanding mutual interests, we are willing to put bilateral ties on the right trajectory and develop them in a stable manner and over the long haul,” Wang noted.
In response, Park stressed President Lee “highly” values the Seoul-Beijing relationship, hoping the two nations will work together to bring to a normal path the bilateral ties that have been “entangled” over the past few years under the preceding government.
“We request again for President Xi to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be held in South Korea’s Gyeongju in late October,” Park said when he conveyed Lee’s personal letter for Xi.
Before departing, Park told reporters that he would faithfully explain the Lee government’s foreign policy, which is rooted in “pragmatic diplomacy.”
Regarding the president’s letter, he said its core message is to strengthen the “strategic cooperative partnership” in a way that can “help the lives of the people of both countries.”
The delegation also consists of ruling Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Tae-nyeon and Park Jeung, and Roh Jae-hun, son of former President Roh Tae-woo.
The envoys are scheduled to meet key Chinese officials, including Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress.
They will convey the Korean government’s commitment to advancing the “strategic cooperative partnership” with China and discuss ways to expand cooperation in such areas as the economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges, according to the president’s office. (Yonhap)
