Moon hopes for early summit with Xi

By Lim Chang-won Posted : October 25, 2017, 15:51 Updated : October 25, 2017, 15:51

[Courtesy of the presidential Blue House]


South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for early talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a message celebrating his reelection as Communist Party head that marked the second half of his 10-year presidency.

Moon and Xi met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit meeting in Germany in July. They would participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam in November before attending the East Asian Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Manila.

"I look forward to meeting President Xi in the near future" to deepen Sino-Korean ties in various ways, develop them into "practical and strategic cooperative partnership", and work closely for peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia, Moon said in his message to Xi.

Since he took office in May, Moon has expressed his desire to hold full talks with Xi in Beijing or Seoul, but there has been no clear answer from China apparently because of a diplomatic row over a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

In a ceremony to present credentials on Wednesday, Moon told four new ambassadors to the United States, Japan, China and Russia that Seoul should step up efforts to improve relations with four global powers around the Korean Peninsula.

Especially, Moon called for improved ties with China. "We are required to overcome the THAAD issue with China and develop the bilateral partnership rapidly in line with our economic and trade relations," he said.

This month, China agreed to extend a currency swap deal worth 56 billion US dollars that has been seen as a symbol of economic cooperation between Asia's two major economies.

Government officials in Seoul hoped the new swap deal may signal an easing of China's informal trade and economic retaliation that intensified after US troops in South Korea brought in the missile system in April. Chinese consumers have shunned South Korean products.


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