Moon Jae-in, the politician expected to become South Korea's next president, called on China on Tuesday to stop economic retaliation against South Korean firms over the deployment of a U.S. missile-defense system.
Moon, speaking in a debate with other presidential contenders from the main opposition Democratic Party, said South Korea must stand up to China and protest against any unjust moves, but also make diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.
"We should complain about what needs to be complained about and we should make diplomatic efforts to persuade China," Moon said.