Zhou Xiaodan

O n July 18， President Lin Songtian of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries was invited to attend a banquet hosted by Yoon Doson， chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in China and president of CJ Group China. CJ Vice-President Hah Bongsoo and Cheng Haibo， deputy director-general of the Chinese associations department of East Asian affairs， were also present at the banquet.

The two sides exchanged ideas and reached consensus on bilateral people-to-people friendship， economic and trade cooperation， prospects for Chinas economy and the international situation.

Lin congratulated Yoon on his election as president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in China. He said he appreciated the contributions made by the chamber and CJ in advancing bilateral people-to-people and cultural exchanges， as well as mutually beneficial commercial cooperation. Lin said that several months earlier， President Xi Jinping spoke with the president-elect of the Republic of Korea， Yoon Suk-yeol， on the phone and congratulated him on his election. Vice-President Wang Qishan， as the special representative of President Xi， attended the inauguration ceremony of President Yoon. All these arrangements clearly revealed the high importance China attaches to its relations with the ROK.

“I believe that the two countries， under the strategic leadership of their state leaders and close collaboration between governments， businesses and private sectors， will raise Sino-ROK relations to a new level， bring more benefits to the two countries and their people and make new contributions to peaceful and stable development in the region and the world at large，” he said.

Lin noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK， as well as the ChinaSouth Korea Year of Cultural Exchanges. China and the ROK are and will remain each other s close neighbors， and the two countries are inseparable cooperative partners. History shows that it is in the common interests of the two countries and their people to safeguard and develop friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation. Both countries have great potential to complement each other and collaborate for win-win results.

Lin spoke of the great achievements made by China in its transformation from high-speed growth to highquality growth. He said China， as the main driving force propelling global economic growth， contributes about 30 percent of the growth of world economy.

The Belt and Road Initiative introduced by President Xi has been well implemented， he said， and China is connected via railway with more than 180 cities in 23 countries in Europe. More than 1，000 China Railway Express trips per month are operating. The high-speed railway network connecting Beijing and Singapore， which covers many Southeast Asian countries， is under construction as planned. Asia has become a community with shared stakes and a shared future.

Lin said that Asia is our common home. Solidarity in the face of difficulty， peaceful coexistence and amity between Asian countries as one family are typical Oriental cultural values. It is our common practice in relations with neighboring countries to respect each other， seek common ground while reserving differences， carry out exchanges and dialogues， learn from each other and pursue win-win results and common development. Its our common aspiration to build a community with more intertwined interests and a shared future， he said.

“The CPAFFC would like to work together with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and other friends in different circles in South Korea to explore new channels for consolidating bilateral people-to-people friendship，” Lin said.

“As long as the COVID-19 situation permits， wed like to comprehensively deepen non-governmental friendly exchanges， as well as mutually beneficial collaboration in commerce and between our youth and media outlets so as to increase amity and connectivity between the two peoples.”

Yoon applauded the long-term support from the CPAFFC for the Korea Chamber of Commerce in China and CJ， expressing appreciation for the cooperation between them. He recognized and appreciated the introduction made by the Chinese side on Chinas economic outlook and the potential —and priorities — of friendly Sino-ROK cooperation and the analysis of the current international situation. He said the Korean side would like to enhance friendly bilateral exchanges and mutually beneficial collaboration hand in hand with its Chinese counterparts to make contributions to stable bilateral relations in the long run.