By Heekyong Yang
SEOUL, Nov 14 (Reuters) - South Korea should neither fear China's rise nor underestimate its capabilities, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Saturday, urging deeper cooperation ahead of a regional summit in China next week.
"During this visit to China, I was reminded that we should neither have an unfounded fear of China's rise nor underestimate its capabilities and potential," Cho wrote on X, saying Seoul should build cooperation benefiting both countries by drawing on the autonomy and creativity of its people and companies.
Cho's remarks came after talks and dinner with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday, their first meeting in about three months.
The ministers discussed bilateral ties, issues on the Korean Peninsula and ways to deliver tangible benefits to people in both countries
The meeting came ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19, which South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will attend. Lee is also scheduled to join a dinner hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Seoul has said.
The summit is expected to bring together several major world leaders. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Thursday on the sidelines of APEC, with nuclear arms reductions among the issues on the agenda, the White House said.
Cho said Seoul would seek to use Lee's visit to advance bilateral ties and expand "horizontal and mutually beneficial" cooperation in areas where the two countries have complementary strengths.
Lee's administration has sought to improve relations with China, South Korea's largest trading partner, after ties were strained under former president Yoon Suk Yeol, while maintaining Seoul's security alliance with the United States.
Wang said on Friday that China wanted to expand cooperation with South Korea in traditional industries and emerging sectors including artificial intelligence and biomedicine. He said bilateral ties had returned to the right track after exchanges between the two countries' leaders.
(Reporting by Heekyong YangEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
