President Lee Myung-bak held summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in London on Apr. 3 on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders'' Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy. They exchanged views on the Seoul-Beijing relations, North Korean issues, and ways to cope with the global economic crisis.
President Lee, first of all, thanked the Chinese government for having tried to dissuade North Korea from launching a long-range rocket, while reiterating the importance of maintaining the framework of the six-party talks.

Lee asked China, as chair of the six-party talks, to play a major role in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. He emphasized that Seoul is ready to resume dialogue with Pyongyang with open heart despite current state of inter-Korean relations.

Hu said in reply that China has persuaded North Korea several times so far with regard to its planned rocket launch and will continue its efforts until the last moment. He expressed sympathy with Lee''s remarks on the need to maintain the six-party talks.

Despite the worldwide financial crisis, Seoul and Beijing need to try to make sure that the volume of their bilateral trade does not dwindle, just as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated at a trilateral summit among Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo held in Fukuoka in December, Lee said.

Hu answered, saying, "We''re trying to maintain the current volume of bilateral economic deals and trade. Responsible officials from the two countries can discuss concrete ways at the ASEAN+3 meeting slated for next week."

On the global economic difficulties, Hu said that China''s domestic consumption has been showing signs of recovery since January, with sales of vehicles and houses picking up. Lee said in reply, "Recovery signs of the Chinese economy will also contribute to reviving the world economy."

With regard to the G20 summit of national leaders, Hu said, "It turned out to be successful. South Korea made many contributions as co-chair. We expect it to continue to play a leading role in the future."

Turning to climate change, Lee suggested that the two countries strengthen cooperation to develop green industry, in light of a series of upcoming international conferences, including a climate change summit to be held in Italy in July, a similar summit to be hosted by the UN in September, and a climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December. Hu agreed by saying, "International cooperation is needed to address climate change issues."