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| President Moon Jae-in, left, shakes hands with China's Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday. / Yonhap |
By Rachel Lee
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said his country could reopen economic communication channels to restore ties during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in, Friday, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Li told Moon he is "well aware" the communication channels between economy- and trade-related offices are now suspended, as presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan quoted Li as saying.
Moon expressed hope the two nations could make a "new start" through his visit to China, and Li agreed, Yoon explained.
Moon sought Li's understanding about hardships Korean companies suffer in China, saying China should address this problem.
Li said he was aware of the difficulties Korean firms face, but the companies will receive many benefits once Korea-China relations improve, saying their investment conditions have not worsened.
Mentioning the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Li said a large number of Chinese people will visit Korea to watch the games and travel around the country during the event. The prime minister also said China will learn from Korea's experience in organizing the Winter Games to prepare for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Moon stressed the two nations need to lift their strategic cooperative partnership to a level where South Korea and China can both achieve mutual growth. The President also said the rapid improvement of bilateral ties has contributed to securing peace, security and prosperity not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the surrounding region.
Moon and Li agreed to work together to qualitatively improve industries such as the internet of things and artificial intelligence. They also vowed to join efforts to reduce fine dust and cooperate on cancer treatment.
This was the second meeting after the one held on the sidelines of the November ASEAN forum in Manila, the Philippines. They reaffirmed their efforts to normalize the countries' ties soured by the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea, while the Chinese premier noted a "bright" future for their bilateral relations.
The two leaders agreed to host a South Korea-China-Japan summit soon, which is slated for next November.
Before meeting Li, Moon met with Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the party's third-ranking official.
During the meeting with Zhang, the second of its kind since June 2015, Moon and Zhang exchanged views about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties, including parliamentary and party-to-party exchanges.
President Moon said the National Assembly and the National People's Congress could play a big role in strengthening bilateral exchanges and cooperation.
Zhang is known for his expertise on Pyongyang _ he studied Korean at Yanbian University in Jilin before gaining a degree in economics from Kim Il-sung University in North Korea in 1980.
Seoul-Beijing relations have been frozen due to China's protest of the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. China has taken retaliatory measures against South Korea that included a ban on large group tours to South Korea.
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