(Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that China is willing to work with the Republic of Korea to ensure long-term and stable development of their strategic cooperative partnership.
Xi noted during his talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae-myung that China and the ROK are important neighbors who cannot be separated and inseparable cooperation partners.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 33 years ago, the two countries have transcended differences in social systems and ideologies, actively advanced exchanges and cooperation in all fields, and enjoyed mutual success and common prosperity, he said.
Facts have proved that promoting the healthy and stable development of China-ROK relations has always been the right choice, which serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples and corresponds to the trend of the times, Xi said.
China attaches importance to its relations with the Republic of Korea and maintains consistency and stability in its policy towards the country, he added.
China is ready to strengthen communication with the ROK, deepen cooperation, expand common interests and jointly address challenges, ensuring that the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership helps bring more positive energy to regional peace and development, he said.
Xi put forward a four-point proposal to open up new prospects for China-ROK relations.
First, Xi urged the two sides to strengthen strategic communication and consolidate the basis of mutual trust.
Noting that the two sides should view bilateral relations from a long-term perspective, Xi called on China and the ROK to pursue common development through mutual respect, and realize win-win cooperation by seeking common ground while putting aside differences.
The two countries should respect each other’s social systems and development paths, take into account each other’s core interests and major concerns, and properly handle disputes and disagreements through friendly consultations, he added.
Xi proposed making full use of dialogue channels and exchange mechanisms between the two countries to gather forces for the development of bilateral relations.
Second, Xi urged the two sides to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and strengthen ties of interests.
Stressing that helping your neighbor succeed is helping yourself, Xi said China is willing to work with the ROK on the basis of the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, accelerate the second phase of negotiations on the China-ROK Free Trade Agreement, and tap the potential for cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, green industries and silver economy, to improve the quality of their economic and commercial cooperation.
Both sides attach great importance to combating online gambling and telecom network fraud, the Chinese president said, adding that China and the Republic of Korea could carry out cooperation at the bilateral and regional levels to better safeguard the security of the two peoples and their property.
Third, Xi called on the two countries to strengthen friendship between the two peoples and bring their hearts closer together.
China and the ROK should better communicate with the media and the general public, send more positive messages, and check trends that could harm the relationship, he said, adding that the two countries should carry out healthy and beneficial cultural and personal exchanges to deepen mutual understanding and consolidate the popular basis of bilateral relations.
They should facilitate cross-border travel, and encourage more exchanges among young people, media and think tanks, as well as at the grassroots level, so as to foster mutual affinity between their peoples and create an atmosphere conducive to the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations, Xi added.
Fourth, Xi urged the two countries to strengthen multilateral cooperation and jointly promote peace and development.
Xi said China congratulates the Republic of Korea for successfully hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, adding that as China takes over as host of APEC, it is ready to work with member economies to advance the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area and regional economic integration, so as to jointly build an Asia-Pacific community.
The two countries should work together to practice authentic multilateralism, safeguard the multilateral trading system, and make global governance more fair and equitable, he said.
Xi pointed out that the Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) reviewed and adopted the Proposals of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development.
Noting that China’s economy has a solid foundation, advantages in many fields, strong resilience and great potential, with conditions and underlying trend supporting its long-term growth unchanged, Xi said China will resolutely expand high-level opening-up and share development opportunities with all countries in the world.
For his part, Lee said he warmly welcomed President Xi’s state visit to the ROK 11 years after the previous one, emphasizing the major significance of the event for ROK-China relations.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the ROK and China have continued to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields, which has boosted the economic development of the two countries, he said.
The two countries are neighbors, but more importantly, they are inseparable partners, Lee said, adding that the Republic of Korea attaches great importance to its relations with China and is willing to work with China to further advance the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
The two sides should maintain close high-level interactions, promote exchanges between political parties as well as at the local level, and properly manage their differences, he recommended.
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan sets the direction and priorities for its economic development for the next five years, Lee noted, adding that the ROK is ready to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China, maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains, and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
The Republic of Korea is ready to intensify people-to-people exchanges with China to consolidate ties between the two peoples, he assured.
China supports China in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2026 and stands ready to intensify communication and coordination with China in international and regional affairs to jointly promote regional as well as global peace and development, he added.
Before their discussions, Mr. Lee held a welcoming ceremony for Mr. Xi. Accompanied by his host, the Chinese president reviewed the guard of honor.
At the end of their talks, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents covering economy and trade, finance, agriculture, law enforcement, science and technology.
Later on Saturday, Mr. Lee held a cordial small-scale meeting with Mr. Xi and hosted a welcome banquet in his honor.
