BALI, Indonesia– President Yoon Suk-yeol told Chinese President Xi Jinping that China’s role is important for freedom, peace and prosperity as they held their first summit talks in Bali on Tuesday.
During the meeting, held on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit, Yoon also said he hopes to work together not only for regional peace and stability but also on global issues, such as climate change and energy.
“Our government’s diplomatic goal is to lead and contribute to freedom, peace, and prosperity in East Asia and the international community,” he said. “China’s role is important in seeking freedom, peace and prosperity in the international community.”
Yoon said it is in both countries’ interests to closely communicate and cooperate with each other, and that South Korea will work for a mature relationship based on mutual respect.
The meeting was the first between Yoon and Xi, and lasted 25 minutes.
Xi described the two countries as “close neighbors that cannot move away and inseparable partners” during a time of unprecedented global challenges.
“We have an important responsibility in maintaining regional peace and promoting global prosperity, and have an extensive stake in each other’s interests,” he said.
“China wishes to maintain and develop the China-South Korea relationship together with South Korea, strengthen communication and cooperation on multilateral platforms, including at the Group of 20, and provide the world with more positive energy and stability by jointly establishing true multilateralism.”
Yoon was expected to use his summit with Xi to further press Beijing to use whatever leverage it has to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile ambitions.
Tensions have escalated significantly in recent weeks as North Korea has launched missiles at an unprecedented rate and simulated nuclear strikes on South Korea.
It was not immediately clear whether the topic was discussed during the portion of the meeting that was held behind closed doors.
The summit came on the heels of Monday’s summit between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Biden told reporters afterward he told Xi he thought China had an obligation to try to make it clear to North Korea it should not go ahead with what would be its seventh nuclear test and that the United States would have to “take certain actions that would be more defensive” in the event the North went ahead.
Biden said those actions could be “more up in the face of China.”
The summit with Xi was expected to be the last bilateral meeting Yoon will have during his Southeast Asia tour after separate summits with Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and a trilateral summit involving all three.
North Korea featured prominently in those meetings as well, with Yoon and Biden vowing to respond with “overwhelming force using all available means” in the event North Korea uses nuclear weapons.
The last time the leaders of South Korea and China met was in December 2019, when then President Moon Jae-in held a bilateral meeting with Xi on the sidelines of a South Korea-China-Japan summit in Beijing.
Source: Yonhap News Agency