Samsung's Lee Jae-yong thanks Chinese Premier Li for help during Covid-19

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Qiang after a meeting held in central Seoul on Sunday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong expressed appreciation for measures China took to help the company weather the Covid-19 pandemic in a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Seoul on Sunday.

Samsung was, as of Sunday, the only Korean company that Li met privately during his two-day visit to Korea for bilateral talks with Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“I deeply appreciate China's support for Samsung and our partner companies to tackle crises during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Lee told Li.

The Chinese government allowed Samsung's chartered planes to enter the country, permitted its Xi'an plant to continue operating during the city's lockdown and helped to bolster major partner companies of battery-making subsidiary Samsung SDI, the Korean corporation said in a statement.

Lee's latest meeting with Li came 15 years after Li's last visit to Samsung Electronics' plants in Suwon, Gyeonggi in 2005.

Li has visited Samsung's booth at the China International Import Expo every year since its debut in November 2018.

“I wish Samsung continuous progress in China,” Li said at the booth last year.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, recently appointed head of the company's semiconductor business; Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon, head of Samsung’s mobile business; and Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho also attended Sunday's meeting.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]