Lee Jae Myung is the first South Korean leader to visit the Chinese capital in six years and has sought to improve ties with China after a years-long diplomatic stand-off.

He met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, where both agreed on the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of dialogue with North Korea.

Zhao Leji, China’s third highest-ranking official, told Lee during a meeting on Tuesday that China was willing to work with South Korea to “consolidate good-neighbourly friendship” and “deepen mutually beneficial cooperation,” Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhao, also the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, said he hoped for the “stable and long-term development” of ties and stronger communication and cooperation, Xinhua added.

Lee’s visit to China followed a US military operation in Caracas that ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face narco-trafficking charges – a raid condemned by Beijing and Pyongyang.

He also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, hailing improving ties as the “irreversible trend of the times”.

The South Korean leader, who is also hoping to expand economic cooperation with his country’s largest trading partner, is visiting China’s economic powerhouse of Shanghai on Wednesday.