Chinese leaders meet ROK president, calling for stronger ties

Chinese leaders on Friday pledged to push China's strategic relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK) to a new high as they met with visiting ROK President President Park Geun-hye. Premier Li Keqiang said China and the ROK are good neighbors and important partners, citing increasing political trust and more common ground in development strategies and goals. Li called on the two countries to take a longer view and a more aggressive attitude, deepen cooperation in trade and the economy, investment, finance and new energy, and speed up the construction of the Free Trade Area (FTA). Li briefed Park on China's economy, saying China's economic restructuring and upgrading will offer more room for China-ROK cooperation. Li called on the two countries to make use of their advantages in technology, markets and human resources and to deepen economic cooperation, which will help boost East Asia cooperation. In regards to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Li said China's stance on seeking a nuclear-free peninsula is consistent, clear and firm. China would like to make joint efforts with the international community, restart the six-party talks at an early date, resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiations, safeguard the peace and stability of the peninsula and promote development and prosperity in Northeast Asia, Li said. Park said her visit to China, which started on Thursday, has produced fruitful results, including a consensus with Chinese leaders on developing bilateral relations. Stressing that both countries are faced with the tasks of developing their economies and improving people's livelihoods, Park said the ROK would like to deepen pragmatic cooperation with China in all fields, expand investment in China's central and western regions and sign the FTA agreement at an early date, as well as boost bilateral and regional economic cooperation. Park recognized China's role in resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula, saying the ROK would like to maintain close communication and consultation with China in this regard. In a separate meeting with Park, top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang said China and the ROK are geographically close, the two peoples share deep bonds and bilateral cooperation has developed robustly since the two countries forged diplomatic relations in 1992. Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, reviewed the frequent exchanges between the top legislative bodies of the two countries, saying that cooperation in this regard has promoted China-ROK relations. The NPC would like to deepen friendly relations with the National Assembly of the ROK, explore new ways to expand legislative cooperation and carry out the new consensuses of leaders, and bring the bilateral partnership of strategic cooperation to a new high, Zhang said. Park said the consensus reached at the summit will usher in a new chapter of China-ROK cooperation. She proposed that the legislative bodies of the two countries increase exchanges, expand cooperation and boost bilateral relations. Park arrived in Beijing on Thursday for her first state visit to China since taking office in February. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Park reached a series of agreements during their talks on Thursday.