President Xi Jinping speaks with ROK President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on the phone

On the afternoon of 25 March, President Xi Jinping spoke with ROK President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on the phone.

President Xi Jinping again congratulated Yoon on his election as the ROK President.

President Xi pointed out that China and the ROK are and will remain each other’s close neighbors, and the two countries are inseparable partners of cooperation. China always attaches high importance to its relations with the ROK. With the joint efforts of both sides, China-ROK relations have grown rapidly in all areas and the two countries have become strategic cooperative partners. It has been proven that the development of China-ROK relations is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and peoples, and has contributed to peace and development in the region. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two sides need to take this as an opportunity to further uphold mutual respect, strengthen political trust, and enhance people-to-people friendship, with a view to the steady and sustained growth of bilateral ties.

President Xi stressed that given the many challenges facing the international community, China and the ROK have a responsibility to maintain regional peace and promote global prosperity. He expressed China’s readiness to work with the ROK to strengthen international and regional cooperation, make positive efforts to keep global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and promote the building of a fairer and more equitable global governance system.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol congratulated China on the successful Two Sessions and on the important achievements of national development made under the leadership of President Xi. He noted that friendly exchanges between the ROK and China go back a long time, and that the past 30 years of diplomatic relations have witnessed great achievements in wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries and tangible benefits to the two peoples. Closer cooperation between the ROK and China will serve their respective development and benefit their peoples, and also contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia. He expressed the ROK’s readiness to step up high-level exchanges with China, enhance mutual trust and promote people-to-people friendship, in order to take ROK-China relations to a new height.