Chinese President Xi Jinping urges South Korea to ‘make correct strategic choices’
Appeal to President Lee Jae Myung comes as Seoul is looking to ‘open a new chapter’ in the relationship after years of tension
Xi said the international landscape was becoming increasingly turbulent and complex as changes on a scale “unseen in a century are rapidly unfolding across the world”, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
As beneficiaries of globalisation, China and South Korea should work together to oppose protectionism and uphold true multilateralism, Xi said. It was a veiled swipe at the United States, which has waged a trade war since Donald Trump came back to power last year.
He also recalled the two countries’ shared struggle against Japan in World War II and said they should jointly “preserve peace and stability in Northeast Asia”.
“China and South Korea shoulder important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development, and share broad common interests. The two sides should stand firmly on the right side of history and make the right strategic choices,” Xi said.
He also said both countries should “strengthen the alignment of their development strategies and policy coordination, expand the shared pie of common interests, and foster more collaborative outcomes in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), green industries and the silver economy”.