At the APEC Summit, China’s Xi Jinping and South Korea’s President Lee met to rekindle diplomatic and economic ties, drawing attention as former U.S. President Donald Trump remained largely offstage.

APEC Spotlight: Xi Jinping & Lee Jae-Myung Rekindle China-South Korea Ties 

South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;said on Saturday it held talks with China's top diplomat over trade, denuclearisation and the coronavirus response, in the first visit by a high-level Beijing official since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted late last year.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party Politburo, met with&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea's new national security adviser, Suh Hoon, in the&nbsp;southern port city of Busan, the&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean government said.

Also read-&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-korea-social-distancing-regulations-reimposed-in-seoul-amid-rise-in-cases-322343" hreflang="en">South Korea: Social distancing regulations reimposed in Seoul amid rise in cases</a>

The two sides discussed topics such as accelerating free-trade agreement negotiations, expanding cultural exchanges as well as the election of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General,&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea's presidential Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a statement.

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China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, and&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea's national security adviser Suh Hoon leave after their meeting in Busan,&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea

Kang added that Yang addressed China's position regarding the current US-China relations and Suh in return emphasized the importance of cooperative US-China relations for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.

The talks come after the COVID-19 pandemic had undercut bilateral exchanges and stalled denuclearisation negotiations involving North&nbsp;Korea.

The two countries resumed exchanges last month when Seoul sent a high-level diplomat for a bilateral economic meeting.

Suh, who took up the top security job last month after serving as intelligence chief, also discussed a potential trip to Seoul by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kang said the two countries agreed to make Xi’s visit to&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;happen promptly once the COVID-19 situation stabilized, adding that China called&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;a priority for President Xi to visit.

Yang said China will continue to talk and cooperate with&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;to achieve denuclearisation and peace on the&nbsp;Korean peninsula. The two sides also agreed on need to hold the&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea-China-Japan summit within this year.

Yang arrived on Friday and is to leave on Saturday, the government said in a statement.

South Korea said on Saturday it held talks with China's top diplomat over trade, denuclearisation and the coronavirus response, in the first visit by a high-level Beijing official since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted late last year.

South Korea said on Saturday it held talks with China's top diplomat over trade, denuclearisation and the coronavirus response, in the first visit by a high-level Beijing official since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted late last year. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party Politburo, met with South Korea's new national security adviser, Suh Hoon, in the southern port city of Busan, the South Korean government said. Also read- South Korea: Social distancing regulations reimposed in Seoul amid rise in cases The two sides discussed topics such as accelerating free-trade agreement negotiations, expanding cultural exchanges as well as the election of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General, South Korea's presidential Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a statement. China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, and South Korea's national security adviser Suh Hoon leave after their meeting in Busan, South Korea Kang added that Yang addressed China's position regarding the current US-China relations and Suh in return emphasized the importance of cooperative US-China relations for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia. The talks come after the COVID-19 pandemic had undercut bilateral exchanges and stalled denuclearisation negotiations involving North Korea. The two countries resumed exchanges last month when Seoul sent a high-level diplomat for a bilateral economic meeting. Suh, who took up the top security job last month after serving as intelligence chief, also discussed a potential trip to Seoul by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kang said the two countries agreed to make Xi’s visit to South Korea happen promptly once the COVID-19 situation stabilized, adding that China called South Korea a priority for President Xi to visit. Yang said China will continue to talk and cooperate with South Korea to achieve denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula. The two sides also agreed on need to hold the South Korea-China-Japan summit within this year. Yang arrived on Friday and is to leave on Saturday, the government said in a statement.

China, South Korea hold highest-level talks since COVID-19 outbreak

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APEC Spotlight: Xi Jinping & Lee Jae-Myung Rekindle China-South Korea Ties

China, South Korea hold highest-level talks since COVID-19 outbreak