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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for stronger ties with South Korea
- During Seoul visit he emphasises need to cooperate on virus response, trade and nuclear stand-off with North Korea
- Relations have suffered since China objected to South Korea’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system on its soil in 2016
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Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, on Thursday stressed the importance of bilateral relations while meeting senior officials in South Korea, where there is growing concern that the country is becoming squeezed between its biggest trading partner and military ally the United States.
After meeting counterpart Kang Kyung-wha, Wang told reporters that his visit during a spreading coronavirus pandemic showed how much Beijing valued its relations with Seoul. He called for stronger cooperation over virus response efforts, trade and finding a peaceful solution to a nuclear stand-off with North Korea.
When asked whether Beijing was pressing Seoul to choose a side amid rising US-China tensions over trade, security and other issues, Wang said: “America is not the only nation in the world.
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“There are 190 countries and each of them are sovereign nations. They include China and South Korea, which are close neighbours and should visit each other more often, like relatives.”
02:49
North Korea’s new ‘monster’ intercontinental ballistic missiles on show at military parade
North Korea’s new ‘monster’ intercontinental ballistic missiles on show at military parade
Wang, who arrived in Seoul following a visit to Japan where he met Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, was expected to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in later on Thursday.
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In Tokyo on Wednesday, Wang told Suga that he wanted the two Asian powers to have good relations and cooperate in fighting the coronavirus and reviving their pandemic-hit economies. But the two sides remain at odds over an island dispute.
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