Xi Jinping says war must never be allowed on Korean peninsula as South’s president tries to mend relations on visit to China
Chinese leader welcomes Moon Jae-in to Beijing as two sides seek to resolve differences over Seoul’s deployment of anti-missile system
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that wars on the Korean peninsula are never acceptable, adding that China would continue to support dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang.
Meeting his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, Xi also warned that South Korea should “appropriately handle” its deployment of a US-backed anti-missile system, which Beijing saw as a strategic threat and triggered its worst diplomatic crisis with Seoul in recent times.
The meeting at the Great Hall of the People came on the second day of Moon’s four-day trip to China – his first since taking office in May.
“For reasons known to all, China-South Korea relations have experienced some setbacks,” Xi said before the meeting in an apparent reference to the Terminal High Area Altitude Defence (THAAD) system.
Xi said such setbacks provided “inspiration for the two countries on how to better explore future relations”, according to state broadcaster CCTV.