South Korean President Kim Dae-jung said Wednesday afternoon that the South Korean government and enterprises will actively take part in the development of northwestern China and support China's early entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

While meeting visiting Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian at his presidential palace Blue House, President Kim said Chi's visitwill help promote the South Korean-Chinese partnership of cooperation oriented for the 21st century, which was established when Kim visited China last year.

The South Korean president stressed that South Korea and China share many common grounds, and developing the friendly cooperativeties in politics, economy, culture and military respects will havepositive influence on the South Korean-Chinese relations and security in the Asian-Pacific region

During the meeting, President Kim reiterated that South Korea will stick to "one China" policy and he also asked Chi to convey his best regards and wish to Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

At the meeting, Chi said China and South Korea are close neighbors enjoying a long history of friendly contacts, and continued development of the Sino-South Korean partnership of cooperation oriented toward the 21st century is in the fundamentalinterest of the two countries and beneficial to peace and stability in the region.

Chi also expressed his appreciation for South Korea's "one China" policy.

The Chinese defense minister arrived here Wednesday for a five-day official good-will visit at the invitation of his South Korean counterpart Cho Sung-tae.

Chi, also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and a state councilor, flew Seoul from Russia after a three-day visit there.

Chi's South Korea tour is the first visit ever by a Chinese defense minister since China and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1992.

The Chinese minister is scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart Thursday to exchange views over friendly military cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.

After the meeting, Chi is scheduled to meet South Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Lee Joung-binn and visit Samsung Electronics Co., and he is also expected to visit South Korean military units and facilities.

South Korea is the third leg of Chi's four-state official good-will tour which has taken him to Britain and Russia. He is also scheduled to visit Mongolia.