Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for better relations with South Korea as he met with his counterpart from Seoul during rare talks in Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

The visit by Cho Tae-yul to the capital on Monday and Tuesday is the first visit by a South Korean foreign minister to Beijing in over six years.

Ties between the two countries "have been facing difficulties and challenges", Wang said, according to Xinhua.

He called for the two sides to "understand and respect each other, strengthen communication and exchanges, eliminate misunderstandings and enhance mutual trust", the Xinhua report stated.

He also hoped that Seoul would "properly and prudently" handle Taiwan-related issues and abide by the one-China policy.

Meanwhile, Cho said better ties were in the common interests of both countries and that Seoul was willing to expand mutual trust, according to Xinhua.

Cho also told Wang their countries should work together and "even if there are difficulties, momentum of cooperation should be continued while carefully managing the relations," according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

He added that they could continue to prepare for a summit of the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan in Seoul, planned for the end of May. The leaders of the three countries last met in China in 2019.

The Chinese statement made no mention of the summit.

Wang and Cho also agreed, according to their ministries, that the economic ties of the two countries had been a force in each other's development, and agreed to strengthen their cooperation, including the ensuring of stable supply chains. (AFP/Reuters)