Make 'right strategic choices' in turbulent world, Xi tells Lee

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on his visiting South Korean counterpart on Monday to join Beijing in making the “right strategic choices” in a world that is “becoming more complex and turbulent,” state media reported.

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Lee Jae Myung is the first South Korean leader to visit the Chinese capital in six years and his meeting with Xi came a day after the nuclear-armed North fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.

It also followed a shock US military operation in Caracas that deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face narcotrafficking charges-araid condemned by Beijing and Pyongyang.

At Monday's talks, Xi warned “the world is currently undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is becoming more complex and turbulent,” state news agency Xinhua reported.

Beijing and Seoul “bear important responsibilities” in upholding peace in the region, Xi said, noting that the sides “have broad common interests.”

"They should firmly stand on the right side of history and make the right strategic choices.”

The South Korean leader then said he wished to open a “new phase” in relations, “based on the trust” between himself and Xi.