Lee Presses Xi; Trump Leaves Summit Early

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited South Korea for the first time in 11 years to attend a Gyeongju summit where South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pressed him to help reopen dialogue with North Korea and proposed a phased denuclearization approach; North Korea rejected Seoul’s overtures. At the APEC forum Xi called for multilateral cooperation to safeguard trade and stabilize supply chains, positioning China as a defender of free trade relative to President Trump's protectionist tariff agenda. China signaled willingness to “cooperate for peace and stability” on the peninsula. President Trump held separate talks with Xi, departed the summit early, and footage of their meetings drew scrutiny for body language and a lip-read remark interpreted as “We should stick together.” Trump later publicly claimed breakthroughs, saying China agreed to resume large-scale purchases of U.S. farm goods and to maintain flows of rare earths and other critical minerals.