China Diplomacy

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in's special envoy Lee Hae-chan met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to discuss ways to restore Korea-China ties, which have been under strain since the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system. Here’s more from Beijing.

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The special envoy's delegation arrived in Beijing on Thursday, where it was welcomed by the Chinese ambassador to Korea, Qiu Guohong. Former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, visiting China as President Moon Jae-in's special envoy, vowed to hold frank talks with Chinese officials.

[Soundbite] Lee Hae-chan(Special Envoy to China) : "The president instructed me to frankly convey his stance to the Chinese officials in order to earn their trust."

In the afternoon, Lee met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang said that Korea must take clear and concrete measures to resolve the conflict between the two nations over the THAAD U.S. missile defense system.

[Soundbite] Wang Yi(Chinese Foreign Minister) : "We hope that Korea will take necessary measures to remove obstacles between the two countries and bring the bilateral relations back on track."

On Friday, Lee met with China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lee delivered a letter from President Moon to President Xi. Lee also conveyed President Moon's proposition to hold a bilateral summit in July.