Xi calls for advancing ties to higher level

President Xi Jinping called for a deeper strategic cooperative partnership between China and the Republic of Korea when meeting with ROK President Moon Jae-in on Monday in Beijing.

Faced with global changes unprecedented in a century, China and the ROK should accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns and promote bilateral ties to a higher level, Xi said.

For more than two years, the Sino-ROK relationship has maintained a general direction of steady development, he said, adding that the two sides should aim for high-quality integrative development and further tap potential to strengthen pragmatic cooperation.

Xi called on China and the ROK to push for early progress in synergizing the joint building of the Belt and Road with the ROK's strategic development planning, speed up second-phase negotiations on the China-ROK free trade agreement and deepen cooperation in innovation and research to complement each other's advantages.

Xi also urged better use of the China--ROK Joint Committee on People-to-People Exchanges as a platform to carry out exchanges in such areas as education, sports, media, youth and local governments.

China and the ROK should also strengthen cooperation in law enforcement and security to jointly crack down on cross-border crimes and safeguard the two countries' social stability and harmony, he said.

Xi noted that rising trends of protectionism, unilateralism and bullying have disrupted global governance and threatened world peace and stability. He said he hopes China and the ROK will continue to enhance coordination within multilateral frameworks, including the United Nations, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, to safeguard international fairness as well as the two countries' legitimate rights and interests.

Moon said that the ROK believes that affairs in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are China's internal affairs.

He also said that the ROK understands China's position on major issues, supports free trade and is willing to enhance communication and cooperation with China on regional and international affairs.

The two leaders also exchanged views over the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Xi said China supports the ROK's efforts to improve ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and inject new impetus into promoting peace talks.

Moon said his country appreciated the significant role that China has played in solving the peninsula issue. The opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the issue is hard-won, and the ROK stands ready to make joint efforts with China to push forward the peace process on the peninsula, he said.

Moon is in China to attend the eighth China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting, which will be held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Tuesday.