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| Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, right, shakes hands with Korea's National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo during a reception hosted by the embassy to commemorate the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations at a hotel in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Embassy of China in Korea |
Dignitaries celebrate 30th anniversary of Korea-China relations
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Since Korea and China established diplomatic relations in 1992, their bilateral relations have been put to the test occasionally as the two sides were not on the same page, particularly in the area of security. Despite ups and downs, their relations have continued for three decades.
Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming highlighted the long-standing friendship between China and Korea as the two countries will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations on Wednesday.
"In the past 30 years, China-Korea relations have developed in full-scale against all odds and set an example of cooperation between two countries with different systems and ideologies," Xing said during a reception at The Shilla Hotel in Seoul hosted by the Chinese embassy, Monday.
About 400 people from political, economic and cultural fields attended the event, demonstrating the importance of Korea-China ties.
Ambassador Xing emphasized the importance of living up to the commitment the two countries had made when they agreed to establish diplomatic relations three decades ago.
"If both China and Korea maintain mutual respect and mutual trust and put their respective efforts into peace and friendship, we will achieve greater development in the next 30 years," he said.
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| Guests attend a reception commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China at a hotel in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Embassy of China in Korea |
National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo said in a congratulatory speech that Korea and China are inseparable partners.
"The establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China back in 1992 was a wise decision. If the leaders of both countries had not made that bold decision to establish ties, the current Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China would not exist," Kim said.
"Korea and China should expand strategic communications in more areas including the economy, supply chains, health, climate change and the environment and cooperate to bring peace and prosperity around the Korean peninsula," he added.
Kim hoped for a visit by his counterpart, China's top legislator Li Zhanshu, to Korea as well to improve relations between the Korean and Chinese parliaments.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Yeo Seung-bae said the ministry will put efforts to develop Korea-China relations in a healthy way to achieve tangible results, quoting a Chinese phrase "harmony in diversity," mentioned during the meeting of Korean and Chinese foreign ministers earlier this month.
"Korea and China will pursue cooperation based on the recognition of differences from a future-oriented perspective," Yeo said.
Kim Han-kyu, president of the 21st Century South Korea-China Exchange Association, recalled his memories 30 years ago, when he bridged the two countries through people-to-people diplomacy. He is known to have played a significant role in the establishment of Korea-China diplomatic relations.
"It only seems like yesterday when I attended the flag hoisting ceremony in Beijing on the day of the establishment of Korea-China relations as the sole Korean," Kim said.
"If Korea and China seek solutions to various issues in politics, diplomacy, economy and culture together, Korea-China relations will only flourish in the future," he added.
Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik highlighted the significant growth of trade between Korea and China since 1992.
"China is now Korea's No. 1 trade partner and Korea is likely to become China's second largest trade partner. The fields of exchanges have been expanding to new businesses, such as artificial intelligence and robots," Sohn said.
"People-to-people exchange is as important as dialogue between the governments," he added.
Meanwhile, official ceremonies commemorating the 30th anniversary will be held Wednesday in Seoul and Beijing and the Korean and Chinese foreign ministers will attend the events, respectively.
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