Chinese President Xi Jinping met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday, expressing a willingness to enhance cooperation and address mutual challenges. This meeting took place during a state summit and dinner in Gyeongju, South Korea, following an Asia-Pacific leaders' forum. It marked Xi's first visit to South Korea in eleven years.

Ahead of the summit, Xi emphasized the importance of the relationship between Beijing and Seoul, describing South Korea as an essential cooperative partner. Lee, who assumed office in June after a snap election, aims to strengthen ties with the United States while maintaining a balanced approach towards China and reducing tensions with North Korea.

“I am very positive about the situation in which conditions for engagement with North Korea are being formed,” Lee stated, referencing recent high-level exchanges between China and North Korea. He expressed hope that South Korea and China could leverage these favorable conditions to enhance strategic communication and resume dialogue with North Korea.

Lee advocates for a phased approach to denuclearization, which includes initial engagement and a halt to North Korea's nuclear weapons development. However, North Korea, a military and economic ally of China, dismissed the denuclearization agenda as an unrealistic “pipe dream” in a statement released on Saturday.

In addition to the bilateral discussions, leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific nations concluded their annual summit on Saturday, focusing on regional economic cooperation. This summit occurred shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi agreed to ease trade tensions between their countries. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit resulted in a joint statement that emphasized the need for greater cooperation to address challenges in a global economy affected by trade disputes.

The APEC leaders acknowledged that the global trading system faces significant challenges and reaffirmed the importance of robust trade and investment for the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. Jeonghun Min, a professor at South Korea’s National Diplomatic Academy, noted that while the statement did not explicitly endorse “free and open trade,” it still supported economic cooperation and multilateralism, which are fundamental to the concept of free trade.

The joint declaration also reiterated APEC members' commitment to the Putrajaya Vision 2040, a strategic framework adopted in 2020 that aims to create a trade environment that is “free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable.”