China's Xi may hold summit talks with Lee in Seoul around APEC visit

This composite photo shows President Lee Jae Myung, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung may hold summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Seoul when Xi visits Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting late next month, a Seoul official said Friday.

Beijing has yet to make an official announcement, but Xi is widely expected to come to the southern city of Gyeongju to attend the multilateral summit of major economies, set for Oct. 31-Nov. 1.

"We are in talks with Beijing on arranging a visit by President Xi and possibly holding a bilateral (summit) on the occasion of his APEC attendance," a foreign ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

If realized, it would mark Xi's first visit to Korea in 11 years. Xi last paid a state visit to Seoul in July 2014 at the invitation of then President Park Geun-hye.

The envisioned summit between Lee and Xi is likely to take place in Seoul, rather than Gyeongju, given the logistical considerations and the weight of the high-stakes talks.

It remains unclear whether the likely summit will be held before or after the APEC event, and in what form, but both sides are reportedly considering another state visit for the Chinese leader.

Following his one-on-one talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing earlier this week, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that he feels quite certain about Xi's visit to Korea and hinted that a summit might take place around APEC.

Wang could visit Seoul ahead of the APEC summit to finalize the details for Xi's visit.

The APEC meeting, the first major multilateral event to be held in Korea since Lee took office in early June, will bring together leaders and delegations from 21 member economies, including the United States and Japan, to discuss common issues and challenges.

Acting U.S. Ambassador to Korea Joseph Yun said at a forum Wednesday that Trump will meet with Lee at APEC, effectively confirming Trump's plan to visit Gyeongju.

Should the visits by Xi and Trump be confirmed, APEC will set the stage for Lee to hold back-to-back summits with the leaders of the world's two superpowers.

The talks will come as Korea struggles to seal a tough tariff deal with Washington without straining the bilateral alliance while also trying to manage stable ties with Beijing amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.

Japanese media have also reported that outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to visit Korea's southeastern city of Busan on Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

If realized, it would mark their second summit in just about two months, as Lee has pledged a two-track approach toward Japan of separating historical issues rooted in Japan's colonial rule of Korea from the current need for stronger ties.