On the 13th, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun called on China to play a constructive role regarding issues on the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed that China's Korean Peninsula policy will remain unchanged and that it will continue to play a constructive role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the two ministers held a three-hour foreign ministerial meeting and dinner at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, China, this afternoon and exchanged opinions on issues of mutual interest, including Korea-China relations and Korean Peninsula issues.
The two ministers exchanged extensive opinions on the regional situation, especially the Korean Peninsula issue.
Minister Cho emphasized that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of both Korea and China, explained the government's efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and realize peace, and requested China's role in Korean Peninsula issues, including North Korea's return to dialogue.
In response to this, Director Wang continued his recent stance of not explicitly using the expression 'denuclearization', but reiterated his position that there was no change in China's existing policy on the Korean Peninsula, which includes denuclearization.
When Minister Wang held a foreign ministerial meeting with Minister Cho in Seoul last August, he stated that 'China's position on the Korean Peninsula issue is continuous and stable.'
At the meeting, Minister Cho said that the government, as the chair country of last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, hopes for the success of the Shenzhen APEC summit to be held next week.
He then suggested that we make good preparations so that the exchange between the two leaders in Shenzhen can become an important opportunity to further develop the Korea-China strategic cooperative partnership.
Director Wang evaluated that the positive trend in Korea-China relations is continuing from last year's Gyeongju to Shenzhen, and welcomed President Lee Jae-myung's visit to China on the occasion of the Shenzhen APEC, and responded that he would provide sufficient courtesy to make this visit a success.
The two Ministers evaluated that the trend of comprehensive restoration of Korea-China relations through reciprocal state visits by the leaders of the two countries last year and this year is showing concrete results, and discussed various ways to continue to create practical results that can be felt by the people of both countries in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year.
In particular, they agreed to strengthen the foundation for horizontal and mutually beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries through progress in the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) service and investment negotiations, while also strengthening efforts to expand people-to-people exchanges and promote friendly sentiment between the two peoples.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director Wang proposed to foster new economic growth engines by expanding cooperation to emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine, and green low-carbon based on existing cooperation.
He said, "China and Korea are close neighbors who cannot move, and maintaining good neighborly and friendly relations is the right choice for both countries," emphasizing the promotion of mutual trust and expansion of practical cooperation.
Minister Cho conveyed Korea's principled position on issues such as the West Sea issue, and also requested the Chinese government's efforts to protect the safety and rights of Korean citizens in China.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two ministers agreed on the need to carefully manage these issues so that they do not become an obstacle to the development of relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Minister Cho said during the meeting, "The Korean government's position of respecting the one-China policy will not change."
Before the full-scale start of the meeting, Minister Cho said in his opening remarks, "The Korean Peninsula issue is a vital interest of the Republic of Korea, and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of both countries," and "I look forward to continuing to strengthen strategic communication between the two countries to advance the situation on the Korean Peninsula."
He continued, "I expect that the leaders of the two countries will meet again in Shenzhen next week for the first time in 10 months and create an important opportunity to further develop the Korea-China strategic cooperative partnership to a more mature level. I hope that the story of friendship and trust between the two leaders that started in Gyeongju will continue through Beijing to Shenzhen, and that the relationship between Korea and China will become even stronger."
Minister Cho evaluated that Korea-China relations have solidified the trend of full restoration following the mutual state visits by the leaders of the two countries in November of last year and January of this year.
He said, “This year, people-to-people exchanges between Korea and China are expected to exceed 10 million,” and “trade between Korea and China has also increased by more than 40%.”
He continued, “This is the result of close communication and joint efforts between the two governments to implement the common recognition between the leaders of the two countries to restore comprehensive relations.”
Minister Cho added that he looks forward to discussions that will help ensure a successful meeting between the leaders of the two countries next week through this meeting.
In his opening remarks, Director Wang said, "With the successful mutual visits between President Xi Jinping and President Lee Jae-myung at the end of last year and early this year, China-ROK relations have returned to the normal track of improvement and development."
He added, "It is very necessary to prepare for the next level of high-level contact," and added, "With the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Korea next year, the two countries should work together to develop the strategic cooperative partnership on the right track."
Director Wang predicted that the amount of trade between the two countries will hit an all-time high this year, and that human traffic will also recover to the level of 10 million people per year.
He said that President Lee and the leaders of several member countries have confirmed to attend the Shenzhen APEC summit next week, and evaluated that Korea successfully hosted the Gyeongju APEC summit last year.
He said, "As China and South Korea hold APEC meetings one after another, we must join hands and jointly promote the construction of an Asia-Pacific community to promote joint development and prosperity in the region."
Director Wang also highly praised Korea's active participation and contribution in China's preparations for hosting APEC, and expressed expectations that the Shenzhen Summit will provide new impetus to the relationship between the two countries.
This is the first meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in about three months since Wang's visit to Seoul last August.
