President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Lima, Peru, on Friday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. (Yonhap)

The presidential office said Monday that maintaining high-level communication is crucial to strengthening ties between South Korea and China, hoping to build on the momentum from the recent bilateral summit in Peru.

While President Yoon Suk Yeol has focused on reinforcing South Korea's security alliance with the United States over the past 2 1/2 years, he said in a recent interview during his visit to Brazil that South Korea does not see US-China relations as a matter of choosing sides.

When asked about Yoon's signaling shift toward a more balanced diplomatic approach, a senior presidential official on the trip explained that Seoul's diplomatic strategy has consistently focused on pursuing national interests in both security and economy. China is South Korea's largest trading partner.

"It is most important to maintain high-level communication" to improve ties, considering Beijing's centralized, efficient decision-making process, the official said.

On Friday, Yoon held his first in-person meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two years, during which he asked for Beijing's "constructive role" in regional peace and discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties. The leaders exchanged invitations for future visits to continue their discussions.

High-level exchanges between the neighboring countries have increased since May, particularly after Seoul hosted a trilateral summit with Japan for the first time in over four years, which was attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

"Moving forward, the two countries aim to achieve tangible results in areas such as free trade negotiations, economic cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges," the official said. (Yonhap)