President Lee Jae-myung (left) on June 10 held his first phone summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss boosting bilateral relations. (Joint Press Corps and Yonhap News)

By Xu Aiying

President Lee Jae-myung on June 10 held his first phone summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed the direction of bilateral relations.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung in Seoul told a briefing that day that both leaders spoke for about 30 minutes from 11:30 a.m.

"I congratulate President Lee on winning the presidential election," Chinese President Xi said. "I look forward to working with Korea's new government to develop the strategic cooperative partnership between our two countries."

In response, President Lee thanked his Chinese counterpart for his congratulations, adding, "I hope for continued active promotion of bilateral exchange and cooperation in sectors like economy, national security, culture and human exchange under the principle of equality and mutual benefit."

Both leaders agreed on the importance of advancing bilateral ties to bring tangible benefits to the lives of people in the two countries. They also pledged cooperation in raising mutual communication and promotion of human and cultural exchanges to foster greater goodwill between Koreans and Chinese, as well as create concrete outcomes for both sides in practical areas such as economic collaboration.

They also agreed on the need for Korea, host of this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, and China, which will chair next year's edition to closely work together to ensure the former's successful hosting of the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

President Lee also urged China to play a productive role in making the Korean Peninsula nuclear free, peaceful and stable.

President Xi responded by saying, "Peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of both Korea and China, so the Chinese side will strive to resolve the issue and promote peace and stability on the Peninsula."

xuaiy@korea.kr