China-South Korea ties: foreign minister meet smooths path for Xi to visit Seoul

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit China on Wednesday and Thursday amid the prospect of China’s president visiting Seoul next month and the expected appointment of a new South Korean ambassador to Beijing.

Cho will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss various plans, including Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ summit on October 31 and November 1, according to a report by Reuters, which cited a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China’s foreign ministry confirmed Cho’s visit on Wednesday, but stopped short of giving details of the meeting agenda.

If Xi’s attendance at the Apec summit is confirmed, it would be his first visit to South Korea since 2014.

The election of Lee Jae-myung as South Korea’s president in June has offered an opportunity for Beijing and Seoul to recalibrate their relationship. It had soured during the presidency of Lee’s predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol, who had aligned his country with Washington.

  

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