South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held their first bilateral summit on Saturday in Gyeongju, pledging to rebuild trust and expand “livelihood-based” cooperation. Xi’s three-day state visit followed the APEC Leaders’ Meeting and marked his first trip to South Korea since 2014. Both leaders agreed to resume high-level dialogue and strengthen strategic communication while framing the relationship around practical gains for their citizens. They also discussed regional security and the need to restart dialogue with North Korea.

The two sides signed a $49 billion (70 trillion won) currency-swap agreement between their central banks and exchanged six