Yang Jiechi Holds Consultations with ROK National Security Advisor Suh Hoon

On December 2, 2021, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi held consultations with National Security Advisor of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Suh Hoon in Tianjin.

Yang Jiechi said, China and the ROK are each other's important close neighbor and cooperation partner. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, bilateral relations have been developing in a fast and all-round way and upgraded continuously. This is in line with the trend of the times and the common interests of both sides. This year and next year are the China-ROK Years of Cultural Exchanges determined by President Xi Jinping and President Moon Jae-in. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. China stands ready to work with the ROK to take this opportunity to strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication, deepen practical cooperation and integrated development and promote the bonds between the two peoples in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and jointly build a more mature and prudent China-ROK strategic and cooperative partnership.

Yang Jiechi pointed out that as major economies in the world and staunch advocates of multilateralism and the free trade system, China and the ROK should continue to give play to complementary advantages, work together to ensure a stable and smooth industrial chain and supply chain in the two countries, the region and the world, strengthen communication and coordination on regional cooperation, multilateral framework and global issues and jointly advance the building of a fairer and more reasonable global governance system. China always supports the improvement of South-North relations on the Korean Peninsula and advocates the settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and consultation following the "dual-track approach" and the principle of phased and synchronized actions. China is willing to work with other stakeholders to play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability, as well as realizing lasting peace of the Peninsula.

Suh Hoon spoke positively of the outcomes of China's social and economic developments, appreciated China's continued pursuit of opening-up at a higher level, and expressed that the ROK attaches great importance to developing relations with China, expects to have close high-level communication with China and further the practical cooperation in economy and trade, culture and pandemic response and other fields, and supports and wishes the Beijing Olympic Winter Games a success. The ROK stands ready to work with China to make unremitting efforts in building lasting peace on the Peninsula, keep advancing regional cooperation and uphold multilateralism.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues of common concern.