China, South Korea must safeguard free trade, Xi tells Lee
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he leaves the Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev)
BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday (Jun 10) to work with Beijing to uphold free trade and defend "multilateralism", state media said.
In a phone call with Lee, Xi urged Beijing and Seoul to "inject more certainty into regional and international situations", Xinhua said, as well as to "promote strategic cooperative partnership to a higher level".
"A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China-South Korea relationship aligns with the trend of the times," Xi said.
"Close bilateral cooperation and multilateral coordination should be maintained to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade, ensuring the stability and smooth functioning of global and regional industrial and supply chains," the Chinese leader added.
South Korea's new centre-left leader was elected in a landslide last week after winning a snap election triggered by his predecessor's disastrous martial law declaration.
Lee's office said the new leader had told Xi he hoped the two countries "would actively promote exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of fields - including the economy, security, culture, and people-to-people exchanges".
Xi was also invited to attend the upcoming APEC summit in November of this year, which will be held in Korea's southern city of Gyeongju.
Lee said he hoped there would be a chance for "in-depth discussions on bilateral ties and regional issues".
He also asked that China play a "constructive role in promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula", in a reference to Beijing's ties with the nuclear-armed North.
Seoul has long trod a fine line between top trading partner China and defence guarantor the United States.
Relations suffered under Lee's predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who cleaved close to the US and sought to improve ties with former colonial master Japan.
But both countries' export-driven economies have now found themselves in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz.
And Lee hinted on the campaign trail that he would seek to improve ties with Beijing.
He has also raised alarm by saying that a future conflict between China and Taiwan would not be South Korea's concern.
