China talks security, business with US-allied South Korea, Japan
World
China talks security, business with US-allied South Korea, Japan
SEOUL/TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Qiang agreed with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday to launch a diplomatic and security dialogue and resume free trade talks, and discussed tensions around Taiwan with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The leaders held bilateral meetings in Seoul a day before the first summit by the three Asian neighbours in more than four years.
China and the US-allied South Korea and Japan are trying to manage rising distrust amid the rivalry between Beijing and Washington and tensions over Taiwan.
Expectations are low for Monday's trilateral summit, but even handshakes would help maintain at least some high-level diplomacy after years of deteriorating relations, diplomats and officials say.
Yoon told Li that South Korea and China should work together not only to promote shared interests based on mutual respect but also on regional and global issues to tackle common challenges, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict and global economic uncertainties.
"I hope to continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation even in the face of today's global complex crises," Yoon said at the start of the meeting, according to his office.
Yoon asked 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 boost military cooperation with Russia, saying another spy satellite launch using intercontinental ballistic-missile technology is imminent.
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Li told Yoon their countries should oppose turning economic and trade issues into political or security ones, and should work to maintain stable supply chains, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
Li said China was ready to strengthen cooperation in high-end manufacturing, new energy, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and other fields.
China will further expand market access, strengthen guarantees for foreign investment and welcomes more South Korean companies do business in the country, he said. In a separate meeting with Samsung Chairman Jay Y. Lee, Li encouraged the Korean tech giant to boost its investment in China.
In recent years, Chinese leaders and diplomats have frequently condemned the U.S. and its allies over export controls targeting its semiconductor industry by calling on these countries to stop "overstretching the concept of national security".
Since 2021, Chinese companies and state entities have been increasingly cut off from ready access to the world's most advanced chips, many of them produced by South Korean tech giants, such as Samsung and SK Hynix.
Li expressed hopes for continuing efforts to "build consensus and resolve differences" through "equal dialogue and sincere communications."
