China’s No. 2 leader, Premier li Keqiang, appealed to Korean business leaders on Friday to help “protect free trade” in a new effort to recruit allies for its escalating dispute with Washington.
The South Koreans were the latest targets of a Chinese charm offensive that has been directed, with little success, at securing European support against President Donald Trump’s threats of tariff hikes in the conflict over trade and technology.
Beijing is willing to “further open up,” li told them in the meeting at the Zhongnanhai compound where Chinese leaders live.
The group included a deputy chairman of Samsung Electronics Co, Yoon Boo-keun, and chairmen Chey Tae-won of SK Group and Sohn Kyung-shik of CJ Corp.