The head of President Lee Jae Myung’s special delegation to China said Wednesday that he expects Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) summit in October, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
 
Park Byeong-seug, a former speaker of the National Assembly, told reporters at the South Korean embassy in Beijing that he relayed the government’s hopes that Xi will attend the APEC summit in Gyeongju.

He expressed confidence that the Chinese leader will attend unless an unexpected situation arises.

Xi has not visited South Korea since July 2014, when Park Geun-hye was president.

When asked whether any opinions were exchanged during his talks this week with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials regarding the Lee administration’s “balanced diplomacy” between the United States and China, Park said he told them it will be helpful for South Korea-China relations if they manage U.S.-China relations well.
 
Park added that the Chinese leadership did not take issue with President Lee’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, but did stress the need to take action against anti-China sentiment in South Korea.

The special envoy said he and the other delegates relayed the government’s willingness to crack down on those who go beyond what falls under freedom of expression as stipulated in the Constitution and other laws.