China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday agreed to maintain the sound development trend of bilateral ties and deepen cooperation as they mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties.
The remarks were made during the meeting between ROK President Moon Jae-in and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is at the final stop of his five-day official visit that started last Friday.
During the meeting, Moon expressed the ROK's high attention to the bilateral relations. He spoke highly of the growing trend of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and high-level exchanges between the two sides during the COVID-19 outbreak, saying it has set an example for international cooperation on fighting against the pandemic.
Noting that the ROK-China relations have made remarkable progress in the past three decades, Moon stressed the bilateral ties have greater potentials in the future.
He hoped the two sides could take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties as an opportunity and work jointly to outline the development trend of the relations for the next 30 years to build a more mature ROK-China relationship.
The ROK is ready to work with China to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, make full use of the Committee for Future Development of China-ROK Relations and expand exchanges and cooperation in areas such as culture, economy, trade and environmental protection to achieve more fruitful results, said Moon.
The ROK president also reiterated the country's support for China to host the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Praising China's contribution to maintaining the peace in Korean Peninsula, Moon hopes China would continue playing a constructive role in safeguarding peace and promoting denuclearization of the peninsula.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during the meeting with ROK President Moon Jae-in, Seoul, the ROK, September 15, 2021. /Reuters
Wang, for his part, stressed that China and the ROK are inseparable neighbors as well as partners of win-win cooperation that should maintain close exchanges.
He hailed the sound development momentum of the bilateral ties and expected the two countries could come up with a more forward-looking, advanced and feasible thinking of the development trend of the bilateral relations for the next 30 years so as to realize greater progress.
The two sides agreed to deepen exchanges and cooperation in culture, economy, trade and environmental protection.
Reiterating China's firm support for the improvement of the inter-Korea relations, Wang assured that China will continue playing a constructive role to realize the longstanding peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses with his ROK counterpart Chung Eui-yong, Seoul, the ROK, September 15, 2021. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
A more mature, stable China-ROK relation
When meeting with his ROK counterpart Chung Eui-yong, Wang stressed that bilateral relation has continued to rise to a new level, becoming more and more mature and stable over the past 30 years.
According to Wang, trade volume between the two countries has reached the $300-billion mark, people-to-people exchanges have entered the era of 10 million, and mutual investment has accumulated nearly $100 billion.
Apart from mutual benefits achieved by the two sides, Wang also hailed the two countries' active roles in maintaining peace and promoting development in regional and international affairs.
Noting the world is undergoing momentous changes not seen in a century, the Chinese foreign minister called on the two countries to cultivate the awareness of a community of shared future and elevate bilateral ties to a higher level.
Wang also called for deepening cooperation on anti-pandemic and vaccine and opposing politicizing the pandemic by using origins-tracing as a tool.
Chung said ROK and China have set an example of how two countries interact and cooperate with each other in the context of the pandemic.
The ROK supports international cooperation on virus origins-tracing on the principles of openness and transparency, and does not agree to politicize the issue, he stressed.
Chung also said his country is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the Group of 20 (G20) to jointly address global challenge like the pandemic and climate change.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Lim Chae-jung, a co-chairperson of the Committee for Future Development of China-ROK Relations, Seoul, the ROK, September 15, 2021. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Wang on Wednesday also met with Lim Chae-jung, a co-chairperson of the Committee for Future Development of China-ROK Relations, which is established last month.
The Chinese foreign minister pointed out the establishment of the committee ahead of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year is timely, calling on members of the committee from both sides to communicate frankly and interact amicably.
He also urged members to put forward forward-looking, timely and operational proposals for the long-term development of bilateral ties, contributing their wisdom and strength to deepen the strategic cooperative partnership between China and the ROK and promote regional and world peace and development.
Lim stressed people in the ROK attach great importance to the development of ROK-China relations, adding ROK members of the committee is ready to work with Chinese members of the committee to collect ideas and make suggestions for the next 30 years' bilateral ties development and beyond.
He added the committee will work on enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, deepening practical cooperation between the two countries, maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula and the region, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.