South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said ties with Beijing are crucial and reiterated his nation’s “respect” for the “one-China” stance when it comes to Taiwan, according to an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV ahead of a meeting with President Xi Jinping.
The “healthy development of South Korea–China relations depends on full respect for each other’s core interests,” Lee said, according to a Chinese translation of the interview posted by CCTV. “With regard to China’s most core concern, the Taiwan issue, we will uphold our position of respecting the one-China stance.”
China has courted South Korea on key regional issues, including Taiwan, ahead of the Monday meeting between Xi and Lee, who will be the first sitting South Korean president to travel to China since 2019.
The visit comes with tensions between Beijing and Tokyo rising after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her government could deploy its military if Beijing attacked Taiwan. In addition, China recently concluded a series of military drills around Taiwan that included a simulated blockade of the self-governed island, a move the US said “unnecessarily” raised tensions.
Taiwan’s current ruling party has repeatedly rejected Beijing’s claims to the island.
In his interview, Lee hailed China and South Korea for their fights against Japanese aggression in World War II and urged learning lessons from the past. South Korea’s military alliance with the US doesn’t mean there has to be confrontation with China, Lee said.
On broader issues between South Korea and China, Lee said his government is seeking a “new, equal, cooperative relationship” with China on AI and other high-technology sectors. Lee also called for more frequent dialog with China and said he’ll seek a summit with the nation’s president at least once a year going forward.
Written by: Li Liu — With assistance from Jacob Gu @Bloomberg
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