Republic of Korea (ROK) Prime Minister Lee Hae-Chan, called for the business communities of both ROK and China to serve as the bridge between the two peoples for a better future of the cooperative partnership between the two countries.

Lee, who attended a welcoming luncheon held by the Chinese business community, made affirmative comments on the pivotal role that business people played in advancing bilateral relations.

Noting that ROK and Chinese companies had begun exchanges and cooperation long before the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, Lee said the commercial exchanges laid a broad foundation for and helped strengthen state-to-state links.

Lee said economic and trade links serve as an important fulcrum for uplifting bilateral relations to a new level. He predicted that ROK and China are likely to achieve their plans for trade three years ahead of the timetable set by the heads of state of both countries, with two-way trade volume to hit 100 billion US dollars in 2005.

China has already become the top trade partner and export market of the ROK, while the latter has been the third largest source of foreign direct investment in China. By the end of April, 2005, ROK companies actually invested 27.7 billion US dollars in China. Meanwhile, Chinese companies also increased investment in the ROK. For example, the Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (SAIC) has taken over Ssang Yong Motor Co. of ROK.

Lee said China's economic growth will help open up an even brighter prospect of development and prosperity in Northeast Asia. He said the economies of ROK and China are highly complementary to the other and boast good prospects for cooperation. He expressed the wish that ROK companies should play a bigger role in China's strategic move to develop the vast western areas and rejuvenate the traditional industrial bases in northeast China. He also hoped the ROK companies to actively participate in large-scale events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

More than 80 businesspeople attended the luncheon, including senior executives from Hyundai, Samsung, SK and a number of major Chinese companies.

Source: Xinhua