Yoon, Xi exchange greetings at APEC summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged greetings during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit Thursday as the two sides were reportedly working to arrange a separate bilateral meeting.

The two leaders were caught on video as they shook hands and briefly exchanged remarks before the start of the APEC Informal Dialogue at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

“There was an exchange of well-wishing remarks that they were glad to meet again almost a year after their summit on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali last November,” a senior presidential official told reporters.

“(Yoon) said he hopes (Xi) will achieve good results during the APEC summit, and President Xi responded he is certain there will be good results, and that he hopes South Korea and China will cooperate toward that end,” the official added.

Yoon also thanked Xi for his hospitality toward South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo when he visited China for the Hangzhou Asian Games, to which Xi responded he had “great talks” with Han, according to the official.

Whether Yoon and Xi will hold a separate bilateral meeting here has been a focus of attention. If realized, it will be their second summit after they met for the first time on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia last November.

“A South Korea-China summit is under discussion,” the official said.