China's Xi urges respect, 'right track' in call with South Korean counterpart
BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping told South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday that the two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and ensure ties move forward "on the right track", Chinese state media reported.
In their first phone call since Lee took office last week, Xi said healthy, stable and continuously deepening China-South Korea relations were conducive to regional and world peace and stability, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
China is South Korea's biggest trading partner and diplomatic relations between the two have improved since a 2017 spat over South Korea's installation of a U.S. missile defence system that Beijing opposed.
Xi urged the two countries to strengthen exchanges, adhere to the direction of "friendly neighbours" and jointly safeguard global and regional industrial, supply chains.
A strategic cooperative partnership between both countries would bring more benefits to both and "inject more certainty into the chaotic regional and international situation."
"It is necessary to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, firmly grasp the general direction of bilateral relations, and ensure that relations always move forward on the right track," Xi was quoted as saying by CCTV.
Lee's decisive victory in last week's snap election stands to usher in a sea-change in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
He faces what could be the most daunting set of challenges for a South Korean leader in nearly three decades, ranging from healing a country deeply scarred by his predecessor's martial law attempt to tackling unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a major trading partner and a security ally.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bessent Returns to Washington as US-China Talks Stretch On
(Bloomberg) — SUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent departed trade talks with China late Tuesday in London, as delegations continued to negotiate over key tech and industrial exports and deescalating their trade war. Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire NYC Mayoral Candidates All Agree on Building More Housing. But Where? Senator Calls for Closing Troubled ICE Detention Facility in New Mexico California Pitches Emergency Loans for LA, Local Transit Systems Bessent told reporters he had to return to Washington in order to testify before Congress. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer planned to continue discussions with their Chinese counterparts 'as needed,' Bessent said. 'We have had two days of productive talks, they are ongoing,' the Treasury secretary said before leaving Lancaster House, a Georgian-era mansion near Buckingham Palace serving as the meeting site. Financial markets were closely watching Tuesday as the world's largest economies continued talks over the terms of their tariff truce brokered last month. US stocks rose to session highs after Lutnick said earlier the talks were 'going really, really well.' The teams, which had been led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, were still holding discussions Tuesday night in order to iron out technical details, according to a Treasury official. The key issue this week is re-establishing terms of an agreement reached in Geneva last month, in which the US understood that China would allow more rare earth shipments to reach American customers. The Trump administration accused Beijing of moving too slowly, which threatened shortages in domestic manufacturing sectors. In return, the Trump administration is prepared to remove a recent spate of measures targeting chip design software, jet engine parts, chemicals and nuclear materials, people familiar with the matter said. Many of those actions were taken in the past few weeks as tensions flared between the US and China. 'Win by China' 'A US decision to roll back some portion of the technology controls would very much be viewed as a win by China,' said Dexter Roberts, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, adding that the possibility of unwinding 'any controls' seemed 'pretty much unthinkable' until recently. A month ago Beijing and Washington agreed to a 90-day truce through mid-August in their crippling tariffs to allow time to resolve many of their trade disagreements — from tariffs to export controls. Lancaster House carries historical significance. It has hosted major addresses by UK prime ministers, speeches by central bank governors and parties for Britain's royal family. At the same time, Trump's trade team is scrambling to secure bilateral deals with India, Japan, South Korea and several other countries that are racing to do so before July 9, when the US president's so-called reciprocal tariffs rise from the current 10% baseline to much higher levels customized for each trading partner. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held his first phone conversation with South Korea's newly elected President Lee Jae-myung and called for cooperation to safeguard multilateralism and free trade. 'We should strengthen bilateral cooperation and multilateral coordination, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and ensure the stability and smoothness of global and regional industrial chains and supply chains,' Xi said, according to the CCTV report. —With assistance from Colum Murphy and Stephanie Lai. New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
China chows on US fast food at London trade talks
China's trade negotiators surrendered at the end of the second day of US trade talks in London — by feasting on American fast food, The Post has learned. The famished Chinese delegation ordered a delivery of McDonald's, Burger King and KFC after the day-long negotiations at just after 7:30 p.m. local time, sources said. Team Trump — featuring Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer — also turned to a fast-food option. However, they dined on takeout from Pizza Express, a British chain specializing in handmade pizzas, the sources told The Post. 4 Chinese officials were left humiliated at the end of trade talks against Trump's team by ordering takeout made up entirely of US fast food. The president, seen above during the campaign last year, is a known aficionado of McDonald's meals. Getty Images One insider branded Beijing's gastronomic choices as 'a total cultural victory' for the United States, even though there was no deal announced on ending the tariff trade spat in sight. 4 The Trump administration team dined out on handmade pizzas from the British restaurant chain Pizza Express, sources said. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images A spokesman for China's embassy to the UK did not respond to The Post's request for comment. The US and China meting at Lancaster House to try and build on negotiations in Geneva last month that agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating global trade war. Lancaster House, an 18th-century mansion a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace, is close to the upmarket neighborhood of Mayfair that is home to some of the British capital's best restaurants. The move by Chinese officials, led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, may be seen as a blow to the host country, which has repeatedly seen its culinary capabilities derided by snooty foreigners throughout history. Insiders refused to be drawn in on whether the meals of choice for Beijing's top brass could raise the chances of success for a possible agreement with Washington. 4 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called the talks 'productive', has left London to appear in Congress on Wednesday. REUTERS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is on the way back to DC and will debrief Congress on Wednesday, called the meeting 'productive.' On Monday, President Trump told reporters: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy.' The commander-in-chief is known to be a fast food aficionado and even served diners at a McDonald's drive-thru during a campaign stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania in October. 4 Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and his team snubbed some of London's finest restaurants on Tuesday. REUTERS His preferred order at the Chicago-based fast food chain is two Big Macs, two Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, and a chocolate milkshake, according to a 2017 book written by two former campaign staffers. The 'Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency' tome was penned by Corey Lewandowski and David Bossi. On the table for trade talks, aside from the fast food, are the levies slapped on semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, visas for Chinese students at American universities, and rare earth minerals that are vital to carmakers and other industries. The negotiations were sparked by the threat of Trump's so-called Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs, which he threatened to slap on countries that he believed had been treating the US unfairly.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wall Street ends higher as investors track US-China trade talks
STORY: U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday as investors bet on positive results out of trade talks between the U.S. and China. The Dow rose a quarter of one percent, the S&P 500 added half a percent and the Nasdaq climbed about six tenths of one percent. The trade talks in London are aimed at defusing a tariff dispute that has roiled global markets this year. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said earlier on Tuesday that the trade talks were going well and could run into Wednesday. Later, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the talks would continue as needed. BESSENT: "We have had two days of productive talks. They are ongoing. My colleagues, Secretary Lunick and Ambassador Greer, are going to be continuing as needed with the Chinese delegation." With investors betting the U.S. will reach trade agreements that reduce Trump's steep trade barriers, the S&P 500 is now trading just below its February record highs. Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer with Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management, says companies continue to perform well despite the tariff concerns. 'The markets had good earnings. You know, we've had basically the S&P 500 last quarter was up 12% year over year, Nasdaq up 23%. I think people realize that you know a lot of the 'death of the market' has been greatly exaggerated. [FLASH] 'I think the tariff talk has basically sucked the air out of every room you go into. It's all everybody talks about. I think people missed a lot of the fundamentals that we had in the quarter, which is basically again stronger earnings. You know, double digits, you know, and all the major indices- even the Russell 2000, which we don't like, had double digit earnings growth year over year.' Stocks on the move Tuesday included J.M. Smucker, which plunged 15 and a half percent after the Jif peanut butter maker forecast annual profit below estimates. And shares of Snap bounced between gains and losses after the social media platform said it would launch its first-ever smart glasses for all consumers next year, ratcheting up competition with Meta in the wearable tech market. On Wednesday, investors will weigh consumer price data from the Labor Department, which could show the impact of U.S. tariffs on goods prices and could influence the path the Federal Reserve takes on interest rates. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
