7 months ago
2
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted Xi Jinping for their archetypal gathering connected Saturday (November 1, 2025) arsenic the Chinese caput of authorities took centre signifier and reforged aged ties astatine an Asian acme from which U.S. person Donald Trump was mostly absent.
The talks connected the sidelines of the APEC gathering came connected the last time of Mr. Xi's archetypal travel to South Korea successful much than a decennary and a time aft his gathering with Canada's premier reset damaged ties.
Mr. Trump flew to South Korea for the acme but promptly jetted location connected Thursday (November 30, 2025) aft sealing a commercialized warfare intermission with Mr. Xi, the brace agreeing to dial down a quality that has roiled markets and disrupted planetary proviso chains.
His departure near the Chinese person to instrumentality centre signifier astatine the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, wherever helium framed Beijing arsenic a liable powerfulness against the chaos unleashed by the United States connected the planetary order.
Mr. Lee welcomed Mr. Xi astatine a expansive opening ceremonial implicit with soldiers wearing accepted garb.
The sojourn was the Chinese leader's archetypal since 2014 and comes aft years of strained ties implicit everything from commercialized to taste disputes.
Mr. Lee told Mr. Xi helium had "long looked guardant to gathering you successful person" and framed his travel arsenic a reset successful relations.
"As our 2 countries determination from a vertical operation of economical practice to a much horizontal and mutually beneficial one, we indispensable enactment unneurotic to physique a narration that delivers shared prosperity," Mr. Lee told Mr. Xi, whose immense system represents South Korea's largest trading partner.
Mr. Xi, successful turn, described China and South Korea arsenic "important neighbours that cannot beryllium moved and besides partners that cannot beryllium separated".
He told Mr. Lee that the 2 countries should "respect each other's societal differences and improvement paths... (and) resoluteness contradictions and disagreements done affable consultation", according to Chinese authorities broadcaster CCTV.
Rekindle ties
Mr. Lee besides pitched China arsenic a spouse successful Seoul's efforts to rekindle frayed ties with North Korea, with which it remains technically astatine war.
Stressing the request for "stability" successful the region, Mr. Lee noted "recent high-level exchanges betwixt China and North Korea" — an evident notation to person Kim Jong Un's caller attendance astatine a large subject parade successful Beijing.
Those meetings, Mr. Lee said, "are helping to make conditions for renewed engagement with Pyongyang".
"I anticipation that South Korea and China volition fortify strategical communication... and enactment unneurotic to resume dialog with the North," Mr. Lee told Mr. Xi.
Ahead of their meeting, Pyongyang had dismissed Seoul's hopes for denuclearisation arsenic a "pipedream" which "can ne'er beryllium realised adjacent if it talks astir it a 1000 times".
South Korea's nationalist information advisor Wi Sung-lac said Mr. Xi reaffirmed to Mr. Lee that China "would proceed efforts to assistance resoluteness issues and beforehand bid and stableness connected the Korean peninsula".
During Mr. Xi's sojourn Seoul said South Korea and China had renewed their 70 trillion won ($49 billion) currency swap statement for different 5 years, and hoped the woody would "help stabilise the fiscal and overseas speech markets of some countries".
The 2 countries besides signed respective MOUs, including connected a associated effect to dependable phishing and online scams, Seoul said.
Passing the baton
Mr. Lee earlier passed the APEC baton to Mr. Xi, who volition big adjacent year's acme successful the confederate Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen.
With the U.S president absent, Mr. Xi has utilized APEC to scope retired to countries with which Beijing has had frosty relations.
He met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney connected the sidelines of the lawsuit connected Friday (October 31, 2025), the archetypal ceremonial talks betwixt the 2 countries' leaders since 2017.
Mr. Xi told the Liberal person helium was determined to enactment unneurotic to get relations backmost connected the "right track" and invited Mr. Carney to sojourn China.
Mr. Carney described the gathering arsenic a "turning point" successful ties betwixt Ottawa and Beijing.
Canada's relations with China are among the worst of immoderate Western nation.
However, they could find communal crushed due to the fact that they are some astatine the crisp extremity of Mr. Trump's tariff onslaught, adjacent aft Mr. Xi and the U.S. leader's woody connected Thursday (November 30, 2025) to dial backmost tensions.
Mr. Carney said connected Saturday (November 1, 2025) helium had apologised to Mr. Trump implicit an anti-tariff advertisement featuring erstwhile U.S. person Ronald Reagan that sent the president into a rage, starring him to cancel commercialized talks and slap further 10% tariffs connected Canada.
Trade talks would restart erstwhile the United States was "ready", Mr. Carney said.
And, helium said, helium had accepted Mr. Xi's invitation to sojourn "in the caller year".
Mr. Xi besides sat down connected Friday (October 31, 2025) with Japan's caller premier Sanae Takaichi, agelong seen arsenic a China hawk.
She told Mr. Xi she wanted a "strategic and mutually beneficial relationship".
