Sawt Falasteen - Xi urges South Korea's Lee to make 'right choices' in turbulent world

Lee Jae Myung is the first South Korean leader to visit the Chinese capital in six years and his meeting with Xi came a day after the nuclear-armed North fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.

It also followed a shock US military operation in Caracas that deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face narcotrafficking charges -- a raid condemned by Beijing and Pyongyang.

At Monday's talks, Xi warned "the world is currently undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is becoming more complex and turbulent", state news agency Xinhua reported.

Beijing and Seoul "bear important responsibilities" in upholding peace in the region, Xi said, noting that the sides "have broad common interests".

"They should firmly stand on the right side of history and make the right strategic choices."

The South Korean leader then said he wished to open a "new phase" in relations, "based on the trust" between himself and Xi.

And he vowed to "seek feasible alternatives together for peace on the Korean Peninsula", footage broadcast by Seoul's Yonhap news agency showed.

The leaders then witnessed the signing of "15 cooperation documents" spanning technological innovation, the environment, transportation and trade, Xinhua said.

A state banquet followed the signing of the agreements, the report added.

Lee, accompanied by a delegation of business and tech leaders, hopes to secure pledges to expand economic cooperation with his country's largest trading partner.

He has called for South Korea and China to work towards "more horizontal and mutually beneficial" trade.

- 'Interconnected supply chains' -

On Monday, Lee also met with top executives from both South Korean and Chinese firms at Beijing's opulent Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Yonhap reported.

South Korea and China "have helped each other grow through interconnected industrial supply chains and led the global economy", he told them.

Among the Chinese firms represented were battery giant CATL as well as phone maker ZTE and tech giant Tencent, Yonhap said.

On the South Korean side, Lee was accompanied by Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group's executive chair Chung Eui-sun, among others.

The South Korean President will meet on Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang -- in charge of economic policy -- and other top officials.

He then heads to China's economic powerhouse city of Shanghai, where he will attend a startup summit and visit the former headquarters of the Korean government-in-exile during Japanese rule.

- Pyongyang tensions -

Lee also hopes to possibly harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with Pyongyang.

"China is a very important cooperative partner in moving toward peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said during a meeting with Korean residents in Beijing on Sunday, according to Yonhap.

Hours before Xi and Lee were due to meet, Pyongyang declared that it had launched two hypersonic missiles and that its nuclear forces were ready for "actual war".

Xi and Lee last met in November on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju -- a meeting Seoul framed as a reset of ties after years of tension.

Seoul has for decades trodden a fine line between China, its top trading partner, and the United States, its chief defence guarantor.

And Lee's trip comes less than a week after China carried out massive military drills around Taiwan, the self-ruled island it claims as part of its territory.

The exercise, featuring missiles, fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels, drew a chorus of international condemnation that Seoul has notably declined to join.

Lee also deftly stayed on the sidelines since a nasty spat erupted between Beijing and Tokyo late last year, triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan.

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S.Abdullah--SF-PST