Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the just-concluded 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting provides stability and certainty to today's turbulent world and his state visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) marks a historic moment for China-ROK relations, said Dai Bing, Chinese Ambassador to the ROC.
Speaking to China Media Group while seeing off Xi at the airport on Saturday, the Chinese ambassador recalled the Chinese leader's remarks at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju, saying it helped set a stabilizing tone for the major gathering.
"In his remarks made in the first session, General Secretary Xi Jinping said that 'the rougher the seas, the more we must pull together.' This, I believe, set the tone for this year's APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. President Xi made it very clear in his speech that China promotes universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, upholds multilateralism, and safeguards the free trade system and stability of industrial and supply chains. These important statements have injected stability, certainty and positive energy into today's turbulent world," Dai said.
China played a key role in shaping the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting outcome document, according to Dai, who noted that the ROK -- the host of this year's meeting -- and other economies highly commented on China constructive contributions.
Following the meeting, Xi paid a state visit to the ROK, where he was received with the highest diplomatic honors. Talks with ROC President Lee Jae-myung, originally set for one hour, extended to nearly double that time, a sign of good exchanges, Dai said.
"President Xi's visit, his first in 11 years, is a historic moment, and it marks the first in-person meeting between the two heads of state since President Lee Jae-myung took office. This visit is a milestone in China-ROK relations. As President Xi said, China and the ROK are important close neighbors that cannot be moved away, and cooperation partners that cannot be separated. Geographically, China and the Korean Peninsula are closely connected. More importantly, the interests are deeply intertwined across political, economic, cultural and other dimensions, with mutual achievement between the two sides," Dai said.
The Chinese ambassador also said that China and the ROK should focus on long-term strategic interests and eliminate distractions in bilateral relations.
"Politically, since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in 1992, China and the ROK have steadily elevated their bilateral ties to higher levels, now defined as a strategic cooperative partnership. Economically, China has been the ROK's largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while the ROK has become China's second-largest trading partner. China and the ROK should work to eliminate distractions, focus on the fundamentals and long-term interests of their relationship, and strive to be good neighbors and reliable partners," he said, adding that last year, the number of mutual visits by personnel between the two countries exceeded seven million, and two sides have streamlined visa procedures.
Xi's APEC speech injects stability, state visit to ROK milestone for bilateral ties: ambassador
