Lee calls to eliminate ‘misunderstandings,’ improve public sentiment between Korea, China

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left shakes hands with Chen Jining, the Shanghai Municipal Party secretary, ahead of a welcome dinner hosted by Chen in Shanghai on Jan. 6. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung in Shanghai Tuesday urged South Korea and China to make mutual efforts to overcome negative public sentiments by minimizing misunderstandings and developing "good neighborly” relations.
 
"Due to several groundless and unnecessary misunderstandings, distortions and misconceptions, the perception of the Korean people toward the Chinese people, and the Chinese people toward the Korean people, has generally deteriorated,” Lee said at a welcome dinner hosted by Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining. “This has hindered the development of Korea-China relations in many ways."
 
He emphasized the need for mutual efforts to overcome such anti-Korean and anti-Chinese sentiments in each country saying, "From now on, we must minimize such misunderstandings and maximize the friendly feelings between Korea and China.”
 

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“If there are any conflicting or confrontational elements, we must minimize them and maximize the helpful one so that we can move forward together as good neighbors."
 
Earlier Tuesday, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung arrived in Shanghai, the second and last stop of his four-day state visit to China. Lee held his second bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, where such issues on public sentiment were discussed.
 

President Lee Jae Myung, left, speaks with Chen Jining, the Shanghai Municipal Party secretary, ahead of a welcome dinner hosted by Chen in Shanghai on Jan. 6. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

In Shanghai, Lee said his state visit “will not only advance Korea-China relations to a new level, but also serve as a positive opportunity to resolve existing thorny issues."
 
Lee noted that every time he meets Xi, the Chinese leader tells him that “We are neighbors who cannot be separated,” stressing that there are many areas in which the two countries can cooperate, “from civilian exchanges and cultural exchanges to even military and security."
 
To this end, Lee said that “most pragmatic cooperation in the economic sector, which is directly related to the people's livelihood.”  
 
Lee said he hopes Korea can contribute to China's 15th five-year plan, which serves as blueprints guiding its economic and social development to 2030.  
 
Chen, an environmental scientist, is a graduate of Tsinghua University in Beijing, like Xi, and previously served as a Beijing mayor. He has been named as a potential successor to Xi.  
 
Lee told Chen that “Shanghai is a city I've really wanted to visit,” adding that the city “was a crucial hub for exchanges between the Korean Peninsula and mainland China” in the past.  
 
During his address, Lee said his visit to Shanghai was especially meaningful as the city served as home to Korea’s provisional government during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.  
 
"It's a particularly significant region, as it was the stronghold where our ancestors fought for liberation and independence when we lost our sovereignty,” Lee said.  
 
This year commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Korean independence activist Kim Koo, who served as the first head of the Korean provisional government in exile in Shanghai during Japan's colonial rule of Korea.
 
Chen highlighted that "Shanghai plays a very important role in Korea-China relations.” He said that total trade between Shanghai and Korea accounts for approximately 10 percent of the total bilateral trade, and there are approximately 3,200 Korean companies operating in Shanghai.
 
"We will work together to strengthen the foundation of friendship between our two countries and expand people-to-people exchanges,” Chen said.  
 
Lee also noted that Korea suffered greatly from fine dust particles every spring, but that the situation has improved significantly eased, saying these days, “it's barely a problem, so our worries have eased."
 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]