BEIJING -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoy will leave for China later this week to deliver the president's message and discuss cooperation, the Chinese foreign ministry said Tuesday.

On Monday, Moon named former prime minister Lee Hae-chan as his special envoy to China. He is tasked with delivering Moon's message to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The envoy is to leave for Beijing on Thursday for a two-day stay, according to Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of the Chinese foreign ministry during a regular press briefing.

The spokeswoman said that Lee's visit represents the new government's will to communicate with Beijing and its emphasis on China-South Korea relations.

The Asian neighbors have seen their ties strained over the deployment of a US missile defense system called THAAD in South Korea.

China has strongly protested the move, saying that it will hurt its strategic security interests. It has taken what appear to be retaliatory steps against South Korean businesses.

Hua expected that the special envoy's visit to China will play a role in ironing out differences between the two countries and contribute to advancing their bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, Lee is part of special envoys named by Moon to be sent to the US, Japan and Russia as well as China. Of them, the envoys chosen for the US and Japan will leave for the two countries on Wednesday, according to a diplomatic source here. (Yonhap)