Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Beijing on May 19 that China stands ready to work with the Republic of Korea (ROK) to bring bilateral ties back to the normal track.

Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Lee Hae-chan, who is visiting China from Thursday to Saturday as ROK President Moon Jae-in's special envoy.

Xi said China attaches great importance to relations with the ROK, and would like to work with the ROK side to safeguard the hard-won achievements made in the development of bilateral ties.

He called on both sides to consolidate the mutual political trust and properly handle divergence on the basis of mutual understanding and mutual respect so as to bring the China-ROK relations back to the normal track at an early date.