Yoon, Xi talk for 3 minutes…presidential office “discussing holding trilateral summit.”
asiae 조회수
President Yoon Seok-yeol met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 16th (local time) and shook hands, having a conversation for about three minutes.
President Yoon met President Xi at the pre-meeting of the first session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, USA, on the same day.
When President Yoon expressed his hope for good results from this APEC meeting, President Xi reportedly responded, “I am confident in achieving good results. I hope that China and South Korea can cooperate with each other for this purpose.”
When President Yoon thanked President Xi for his hospitality during the visit of Prime Minister Han Duk-soo to China during the Hangzhou Asian Games, President Xi replied, “We had a wonderful meeting with Prime Minister Han.”
The two countries are currently discussing the possibility of holding a South Korea-China summit meeting in conjunction with this APEC summit. A senior official from the presidential office said at a local press briefing on the same day, “We are still discussing the South Korea-China summit meeting (until departure). However, due to the tight schedules of the two leaders, we cannot guarantee that it will actually take place.”
When asked by a reporter why the South Korea-China summit meeting has not been confirmed yet, while President Xi had separate summit meetings with the US and Japan, the official replied, “China first concentrated all its energy on the meetings with the US, and then determined which country to have compact meetings with and return to. “
He added, “So, after the US, President Xi had a short meeting with Japan, and whether the South Korea-China summit meeting will take place is a separate issue. Both countries are continuously making judgments on whether it would be good to have the meeting and return based on strategic considerations.”
Regarding whether the recent military cooperation between North Korea and Russia was discussed in the conversation between President Yoon and President Xi, the official said, “We are handling the issue of weapons trade between Russia and North Korea separately from the China issue and conducting diplomacy. We have had several meetings, but we are not discussing the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea with China.”
By Ki-min Lee, journalist, victor.lee@asiae.co.kr
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