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OSAKA, Japan, June 27-- Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed here Thursday to further elevate bilateral relations with win-win cooperation and together safeguard multilateralism, free trade and an open world economy. The two leaders met ahead of a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies slated for Friday and Saturday in the Japanese city of Osaka. During their meeting, Xi said it is in accordance with the trend of history to enhance China-South Korea friendly cooperation, which also answers to the common calls of the two peoples. China is willing to work with South Korea to stick to treating each other with sincerity, strive to achieve win-win cooperation, push ahead the development of bilateral ties, and make contributions to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region, Xi said. He urged the two sides to maintain communication at all levels and hold firmly the general direction of bilateral relations. China and South Korea should seize the opportunity of jointly building the Belt and Road, accelerate the second-stage negotiations on a China-South Korea free trade agreement, and expand cooperation in such fields as trade, science and technology, finance and economics, as well as environment protection, Xi said. He also encouraged the two sides to actively carry out people-to-people and cultural exchanges so as to consolidate friendship between the two peoples. | 
