Chinese foreign minister touts ‘robustness’ and ‘vitality’ of S. Korea-China ties

SEOUL, Nov 25, 2020, Yonhap. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with South Korean President Moon Jae In on Thursday with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic high on the agenda of his first visit to the neighboring country in nearly a year, Yonhap News reported.

At the outset of their talks, Wang emphasized that his visit during the global public health crisis shows how robust and vital his country’s relationship with South Korea is, and a strong belief in South Korea’s ability to deal with the pandemic.

Moon said he is happy to see diverse exchanges between the two countries during these difficult times due to the coronavirus, and that he expects to come up with a long-term policy of cooperation ahead of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2022.

Earlier in the day, Wang held talks with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung Wha to discuss arrangements for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to South Korea, among other things.

After the talks, however, Wang told reporters that a Xi visit could be made only after the pandemic is believed to have ended.

“What is important at this time is to arrange conditions that could enable the visit. As soon as the conditions are set, the visit could be possible.”

South Korea is seeing a rapid increase in daily new coronavirus cases. It reported 583 new cases on Thursday, the most since March.

Wang arrived in Seoul on Wednesday after visiting Japan. In Tokyo, he held talks with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, among other officials. It was Suga’s first in-person meeting with a senior Chinese official since taking office in September.

Wang, who doubles as a state councilor, last visited South Korea last December.