Li Qiang: China, S. Korea should remove disturbances, meet halfway

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday called on China and South Korea to resist interference, meet each other halfway, and advance bilateral relations so as to reflect the changes of the times.

Li made the remarks during a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit.

China is ready to work with South Korea to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, uphold the original intention of establishing diplomatic ties, and enhance mutual political trust, Li stressed.

He said that China and South Korea should expand common interests, jointly maintain the stable and smooth operation of industrial and supply chains, continuously make the pie of cooperation bigger and better achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

The Chinese premier also noted that the two sides should respect each other's core interests and major concerns and safeguard the overall situation of the China-South Korea relations.

Stressing China has consistently supported the north and south of the Korean Peninsula in promoting reconciliation and cooperation and has consistently advocated the maintenance of peace and stability on the peninsula, Li told Yoon that China will continue to be committed to promoting peace talks.

Yoon wished the Hangzhou Asian Games a complete success, saying that South Korea-China relations have achieved great development over the past 30 years, benefiting both countries and people.

South Korea is willing to work with China to strengthen communication and dialogue at all levels, deepen exchanges and cooperation in the fields including economy, trade, people-to-people exchanges and practice multilateralism and free trade, Yoon added.

He also mentioned that South Korea is willing to strengthen coordination with the Chinese side to promote trilateral cooperation between South Korea, China and Japan.

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