Interview: S. Korean president calls three decades of relations with China "remarkable"

Photo taken on Feb. 8, 2022 shows South Korean President Moon Jae-in being interviewed at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea. (Joint Press Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

"Relations between South Korea and China have made remarkable progress in the 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992," Korean President Moon Jae-in said.

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's relations with China have made "remarkable" progress in the past 30 years, Korean President Moon Jae-in said, who also stressed the need to restore free trade order based on multilateralism and reciprocal cooperation.

"Relations between South Korea and China have made remarkable progress in the 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992," Moon said in a recent joint written interview with Xinhua and other global news agencies.

Moon called on strengthening mutual understanding, especially among the young and future generations in both countries, while promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges to further this end, said the president.

The two countries declared 2021 and 2022 to be the China-South Korea Year of Cultural Exchanges, agreeing to map out a blueprint for developing bilateral ties over the next 30 years.

Visitors tour the South Korea exhibition hall during the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

With the rise of the two countries' international status, Moon said that Seoul and Beijing are strengthening communications on Korean Peninsula issues and global concerns such as the COVID-19 response and climate change.

Regarding protectionism and unilateralism, Moon said close cooperation within the international community is crucial since global issues such as the pandemic and climate change cannot be resolved through the efforts of individual countries.

Through mutual trust and inclusiveness built from solidarity and cooperation, the international community can overcome the current COVID-19 crisis, Moon noted.

Photo taken on Feb. 27, 2020 shows boxes of masks donated to Daegu by the Chinese Embassy, in Seoul, South Korea. (Chinese Embassy in South Korea/Handout via Xinhua)

"Just as the world has so far walked the path of mutual benefit and common prosperity through free trade and investment, restoration of the free trade order based on multilateralism and reciprocal cooperation will become the path to surmount the COVID-19 crisis and stabilize the global supply chain," he said.

Moon added that South Korea has benefited from free trade and will actively work with other nations to establish an open and fair trade order, emphasizing the need for complementary economic cooperation between China and South Korea.

He also called for continued efforts to denuclearize and establish a peace regime on the peninsula along with security guarantees for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its normalized relations with the United States.