New Blueprint for Sino-ROK Ties: People's Observation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 16, 2003

New Blueprint for Sino-ROK Ties: People's Observation

The president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Roh Moo-hyun paid his first state visit to China July 7-10, and he was warmly welcomed and received by the Chinese government and people.

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The president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Roh Moo-hyun paid his first state visit to China July 7-10, and he was warmly welcomed and received by the Chinese government and people. Roh Moo-hyun's China tour is of far-reaching significance after his assumption of office. During the visit leaders of the two countries held fruitful talks, mapped out the blueprint of Sino-ROK relations, which was positioned at an "all-round cooperative partnership", and issued a joint statement. All these results show that the steady development of Sino-ROK relations of friendship and cooperation will continue to benefit the two peoples and exert a positive influence on the peace and stability of Asia and even the world as a whole.

For thousands of years China and the ROK have been neighbors with a tradition of friendly associations. Especially over the past 11 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties, Sino-ROK bilateral ties have grown rapidly, bringing substantial benefits to both peoples and making great contribution to regional peace, stability and development. Leaders of the two nations, attaching great importance to the development of bilateral ties, have established a mechanism for regular mutual visits and meetings, and have expanded and perfected the mechanism for cooperation and dialogs, which has resulted in the constant enhancement of mutual understanding and mutual trust, thus laying a solid foundation for the development of Sino-ROK relations and for their consultation and cooperation in international affairs.

Economically, the two countries' economic and trade relations have undergone constant expansion and maintained a good momentum of fast growth. Last year, China-ROK trade volume reached US$44 billion, the two nations have thus become each other's third biggest trade partner. China has become the number one object of ROK investment, South Korea's total investment in China has topped US$10 billion. Culturally, exchanges in this field between the two countries have been deepening and expanding, a "ROK current" has appeared in China, South Korean culture is loved by many Chinese; it has become a common practice that South Koreans are learning the Chinese language and getting to know China, while the "Chinese wind" has become an unprecedented surging tidal wave in the ROK. In the exchange of personnel, the number of people coming from the ROK to China on visits exceeded 1.72 million by turnstile count last year and friendly ties have been established among 16 cities and 101 countries of the two countries. The establishment and development of all-round cooperative partnership between China and the ROK since the beginning of the 21st century will open up a new phase in China-ROK good neighborly relations of friendship and mutual beneficial cooperation. At present, the two nations are devoting their energetic efforts to economic development and social stability, their mutually beneficial cooperation is developing toward a new depth and breadth, and their awareness of seeking common security and development is rising. Maintaining stability and deepening cooperation have become the mainstream in the development of China-ROK relations.

The development of China and the ROK can never be achieved without peace and stability in the world, especially in the Korean Peninsula. With the cropping up of the Korean nuclear issue, the peninsula is faced with a severe test. Roh Moo-hyun has repeatedly stressed that there must not be war in the Korean Peninsula, and he has consistently adhered to the principle of peacefully solving this issue. People are glad to see that today, as complicated change is taking place in the Korean Peninsular situation, the Roh Moo-hyun new administration, based on former president Kim Dae-jung's "reconciliation policy" toward the DPRK, is actively pushing through a "policy of peace and prosperity" toward Korea, thus bringing about some progress in the ROK-DPRK relations. China has always devoted its efforts to the maintenance of peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, advocated that the peninsula be nuclear-free, and firmly implemented its good neighborly diplomatic ideology of "taking neighbors as friends and partners", it is playing an active and constructive role in solving the Korean nuclear issue peacefully. The ROK side praised China for it efforts in promoting the Beijing talks. Both sides expressed the hope that the Beijing talks-initiated dialog momentum would continue, so that the peninsular situation would develop in a positive direction.

Both China and the ROK are influential countries in the East Asian region, and further strengthening consultation and cooperation in the region and in the international arena is of vital importance to peace and economic prosperity in the Northeast Asian region. In the rapid development of economic globalization and the formation of regional groups, both countries agreed to devote their efforts to expediting the process of the rising regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. It is believed that the China-ROK ties, characterized by rapid development, remarkable success, huge potential and broad development prospect, will advance on to a new course and open up a new phase in the new century.

By PD Online Staff Li Heng

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