China’s top legislator urges cooperation with South Korea on supply chains
- Li Zhanshu met counterpart Kim Jin-pyo who is seeking to maintain economic ties with Beijing while strengthening his country’s relationship with the US
- Beijing has been critical of South Korea hosting a US anti-missile battery, and Seoul faces pressure from Washington to speak up on issues such as Taiwan
China’s top legislator, Li Zhanshu, called on Friday for more cooperation with South Korea on cutting-edge technologies and supply chain issues.
Li, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, was speaking in Seoul after meeting his South Korean counterpart, parliament speaker Kim Jin-pyo.
Li was also scheduled to meet with business leaders and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is seeking to maintain economic ties with Beijing while strengthening his country’s relationship with the United States.
“We support both sides deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, accelerating the second-phase negotiations for the free trade agreement, boosting cooperation in the high-tech sector, and smoothly and stably managing the supply and industrial chains to achieve high-quality development,” Li said at a joint news conference with Kim, speaking through a translator.
The two sides agreed “to manage and handle sensitive issues under the spirit of respecting each other’s core interests and issues of important interest”, Li said, without elaborating.