Xi urges China, S. Korea to lift strategic cooperative partnership to higher level

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China and South Korea should lift their strategic cooperative partnership to a higher level, so as to deliver more benefits to the two peoples and bring greater certainty to the turbulent regional and international landscapes.

Xi made the statement during a telephone conversation with the newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

Extending congratulations once again to Lee on his election as South Korean president, Xi said that China and South Korea are close neighbors that cannot be moved away from each other.

Over the past 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have transcended differences in ideology and social systems, and actively advanced exchanges and cooperation across various fields, thus contributing to each other's success and achieving common development, he said.

A sound, stable and ever-deepening China-South Korea relationship, Xi said, conforms to the trend of the times, serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples, and contributes to regional and global peace, stability, development and prosperity.

China and South Korea should stay committed to the original aspiration of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, uphold good-neighborliness and friendship, and strive for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, Xi said.

The two sides, he said, should enhance exchanges at various levels and across various areas to increase strategic mutual trust, strengthen bilateral cooperation and multilateral coordination to jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and ensure stable and smooth global and regional industrial and supply chains.

China and South Korea should deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and cement public support, so as to plant the seeds of China-South Korea friendship deep in the hearts of the two peoples, Xi said.

The two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns and keep bilateral relations on the right track to ensure sound and steady growth of China-South Korea relations, he added.

Lee, for his part, said he agrees with Xi's remarks, stressing the close geographical proximity, longstanding exchanges, and close economic, trade, and cultural connections between South Korea and China.

While expressing admiration for China's impressive development achievements under Xi's outstanding leadership, Lee said that he attaches great importance to South Korea-China relations, and is ready to work with China to deepen their good-neighborly and friendly relations, enhance mutual goodwill between the two peoples and achieve more results in bilateral cooperation.

Xi urges China, S. Korea to lift strategic cooperative partnership to higher level

Xi urges China, S. Korea to lift strategic cooperative partnership to higher level

Xi urges China, S. Korea to lift strategic cooperative partnership to higher level

Xi urges China, S. Korea to lift strategic cooperative partnership to higher level

Rising military tensions in the Persian Gulf are casting a heavy shadow over Iraq's economy, raising concerns about the fate of oil exports and maritime trade.

The recent targeting and burning of two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi oil within Iraq's territorial waters marks a significant escalation, signaling that a closure of the Strait of Hormuz is now a tangible threat. Such a scenario would halt Iraq's oil exports to global markets, dealing a severe blow to an economy that relies on oil revenues as its main source of funding for both operational and investment budgets.

With the main maritime route for its oil exports disrupted, Iraq is now looking to the central bank's reserves to cushion the shock of lost oil revenues and to ensure the payment of government employees' salaries.

"The other impact Iraq fears is the economic fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This will affect Iraq just as it will other countries, but it will hit Iraq harder, because Iraq relies mainly, almost 90 percent of its resources, on oil sales. So the economic impact on Iraq will be significant. The consequences are both political and economic," said Hamza Mustafa, an Iraqi journalist.

The Iraqi government has few alternatives for exporting oil through other routes. The Ceyhan pipeline, which carries Iraqi oil through Turkey, remains shut, leaving the Gulf, now a conflict zone, as the only outlet. Recently, Iraqi officials have begun discussing the need to boost non-oil revenues to mitigate the economic impact of the ongoing conflict.

"We are doing everything in our power to keep this war away from our country, because Iraq cannot withstand more conflict. Our country has reached a critical economic stage in recent years, both before and after the previous regime. We have learned many lessons. As parliament, we will push for decisions that serve our citizens and our country," said Saqr Al-Muhammadawi, a member of Iraq's parliament.

According to a statement by Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Navy, the Strait of Hormuz has not yet been militarily blocked and is merely under control. The strait "is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass," he said.

Gulf tensions raise fears for Iraqi's oil-funded economy