Li calls on South Korean firms to expand cooperation with China

SEOUL - Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday that South Korea's large enterprises should grasp current opportunities and keep expanding cooperation with China.

Li, who is here for his first official visit to South Korea as premier, made the remarks during a meeting with executives of several major South Korean business groups and corporations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LG Electronics, SK Group, Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group.

The executives briefed the premier about the operations of their businesses in China, and tabled their suggestions on promoting trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

After listening to the suggestions, Li noted that the enterprises represented at the meeting started cooperation with China relatively early, have established a deep engagement in China's industrialization and modernization, and now represent the high level of the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries' businesses.

As China pushes forward reform and opening-up along with economic restructuring and upgrading, he said, the country will further improve its investment environment and open up more areas for foreign investment.

He expressed his hope that South Korea's large enterprises will combine strengths with their Chinese counterparts and jointly carry out production capacity cooperation in third-party markets, so as to realize win-win results.

The executives voiced their optimism over the significant opportunities provided by China's reform, opening-up and innovation-driven development.

They vowed to further strengthen cooperation with China, expand cooperation areas, and become good cooperation partners for China's economic development.

Li arrived in Seoul on Saturday for the ongoing three-day trip, which also includes a trilateral summit with Japanese and South Korean leaders on Sunday.