State Councilor Yang Jiechi stressed the importance of relations with South Korea on May 19, 20`17, while meeting South Korean Special Envoy and former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan. The envoys are meeting to discuss ways of containing North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons activities as well as the economic fallout over the deployment in South Korea of the U.S. missile defense system called THAAD. Lee Hae-chan said South Korean President Moon Jae-In had dispatched him to China to keep communications open between the two countries "at a critical time." Earlier, on May 18, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated calls for dismantling THAAD. He said "We're now at a crossroads in our relations" and urged the new South Korean administration to make a decision to "remove the obstacles" that stand in the way of healthy ties.