On the evening of December 23, 2019, Premier Li Keqiang met in Chengdu, Sichuan Province with President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea (ROK), who was here for the 8th China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting.
Li Keqiang expressed, China and the ROK are important neighbors and trading partners. Our two countries have enjoyed rapid development in their relations since we established diplomatic relations, and the trade volume between the two countries exceeded 300 billion US dollars last year. President Xi Jinping held a fruitful meeting with Mr. President this morning. China and the ROK share similar culture and have a long history of exchanges. The Chinese side attaches great importance to developing bilateral relations and stands ready to, from an overall and long-term perspective, work with the ROK side to enhance political mutual trust, boost mutually beneficial cooperation, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and promote the sustained and healthy development of bilateral relations, which is critical to securing peace, stability, development and prosperity in not only China and the ROK, but also Northeast Asia.
Li Keqiang pointed out, amid the global economic and trade downturn and downward pressure, China and the ROK should give full play to their complementary advantages, enhance economic and trade cooperation, and make China-ROK cooperation a driving force of regional and global economic development. The Chinese side is willing to uphold an open and inclusive attitude to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with the ROK side, actively discuss carrying out cooperation in third-party markets, technological innovation and the service industry, and deepen cooperation in addressing climate change and environmental protection to better achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
Li Keqiang stressed, this year marks the 20th anniversary of China-Japan-ROK cooperation. China is ready to work with the ROK and Japan to promote trilateral cooperation, safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and in particular, facilitate the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at an early date and promote concrete progress in the China-Japan-ROK free trade agreement negotiations, thus sending a positive signal to the region and the world.
Moon Jae-in said, since the establishment of ROK-China diplomatic relations, both countries have scored fruitful outcomes from cooperation in various fields covering politics, economy and culture, and achieved common development and made positive contributions to peace and development in Northeast Asia and the world at large. Against the background of downward pressure on the world economy and rising uncertainties, I am in complete agreement that all parties should join hands to address challenges. The ROK side is ready to work with the Chinese side to strengthen the synergy of development strategies, promote third-party market cooperation for early achievements, cement people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and enhance cooperation in sports, culture and tourism. The ROK side stands ready to join hands with the Chinese side to promote the signing of the RCEP as soon as possible and take concrete steps to safeguard free trade.
Xiao Jie was present.