Chinese President Xi invites South Korean President Lee for 2nd summit

Beijing [China], January 2 (ANI): Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday invited Korean President Lee Jae Myung to a state visit in Beijing, highlighting China shift towards mending relations South Korea amid regional turbulence, Al Jazeera reported.
South Korea's national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, said that Lee will meet Xi in Beijing on Monday before travelling to Shanghai to visit the historic site of South Korea's provisional government during Japan's 35-year colonial rule.
Wi said the leaders are expected to discuss "practical cooperation" in areas including supply-chain investment, tourism, and responses to transnational crime, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Asked about the agenda of summit talks between Lee and Xi on Monday, Wi replied, "There will be discussions on peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula."
The state visit comes less than two months after Xi made his first trip to South Korea in 11 years on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, marking reciprocal state visits within an unusually short period of time, as per Yonhap. This meeting came before the next talks between the leaders of South Korea and Japan takes place.
Relations between China and Japan remain at a low point after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could provoke a military response from Tokyo.
On Friday, Wi reaffirmed South Korea's position on Taiwan, saying the country does "respect the one China policy and act in accordance with that position". The position acknowledges Beijing's view that Taiwan remains part of its sovereign territory, while allowing for separate ties with the self-governing island.
Meanwhile, China's recent live-fire military exercise heightened strains between Taiwan and Beijing. The United States stepped in earlier this week, calling on China to reduce its military pressure campaign against Taiwan, Focus Taiwan reported.
"China's military actions and statements toward Taiwan and other regional actors unnecessarily raise tensions," said Tommy Pigott, the US State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, on Thursday, according to Focus Taiwan. (ANI)