South Korea and China Team Up for Peace Talks

South Korea's leader, Lee Jae Myung, recently met with China's President Xi Jinping. He asked for China's help to start talks with North Korea. This meeting happened after a big event with leaders from countries around the Pacific Ocean. Xi Jinping said China wants to work closely with South Korea. He called them an important partner. Lee, who became president this year, wants to be friends with the U. S. but not make China upset. He also wants peace with North Korea. Lee thinks now is a good time to talk to North Korea. He mentioned that China and North Korea have been talking lately. He hopes South Korea and China can work together to start these talks. But North Korea said they don't believe in giving up their nuclear weapons. They called it a "pipe dream. " This makes things more complicated. At the big event, leaders from 21 countries talked about trade. They agreed to work together because trade wars between the U. S. and China have been hurting the world economy. They also said they will follow a plan for fair trade until 2040. A professor from South Korea said the leaders' statement was good. It showed they support working together and fair trade. Even though the U. S. president left quickly, China's president got more attention.