Senior Chinese diplomat meets with Ban Ki-moon

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations secretary-general, and now chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, in Beijing, capital of China, July 10, 2023. [Xinhua/Liu Bin]

BEIJING -- Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations secretary-general, and now chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), in Beijing on Monday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, welcomed Ban to China to attend the first high-level conference of Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, saying that China appreciates Ban's remarkable contributions to the development of UN cause and international cooperation.

Wang expressed his hope that Ban, as BFA chairman, will continue to exert positive influence and work to promote peace and development in Asia.

Since China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) established diplomatic ties 30 years ago, bilateral relations have gone through an extraordinary journey and achieved unprecedented results. He said that bilateral relations should move forward instead of stagnating or backsliding.

China's policy toward the ROK remains unchanged, Wang said, adding that it is hoped that the ROK will work with China to overcome temporary difficulties, reinvigorate exchanges and cooperation, and open up broad prospects for the development of bilateral relations.

Ban thanked China for its strong support during his tenure as UN secretary-general and BFA chairman, and appreciated China for putting forward a series of important global initiatives, which have injected a strong impetus into global synergy.

The ROK and China are close neighbors and must get along well with each other, and he will make continuous efforts for the development of ROK-China relations, Ban said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of common concern.