Prime Minister Kim Min-seok Holds First Korea-China Prime Ministerial Talks in 7 Years: "Need to Elevate Exchanges"

The prime ministers of South Korea and China met in Dalian and agreed to work toward improving bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who is on a visit to China, said in his opening remarks at the meeting with Premier Li Qiang held at the Bangchuidao Hotel in Dalian on the afternoon of June 23, "South Korea and China need to elevate their exchanges to a higher level across political, economic, and cultural fields, as well as in youth exchanges."

"I believe today's meeting serves as a stepping stone for the political dialogues that should continue following the meetings between the leaders of our two countries," Kim said, emphasizing that "this meeting will serve as an opportunity for the strategic cooperative partnership between our two nations to be further solidified at a new stage."

Prime Minister Kim, who led the preparations for last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, mentioned this year's APEC event to be held in Shenzhen, China, adding, "I hope it will be well-prepared and become an excellent APEC that serves as a global model."

In his opening remarks, Premier Li also stated, "The Chinese side is willing to work with the South Korean side to enhance mutual trust and continue to expand the breadth and depth of cooperation, in accordance with the strategic guidance of our two leaders."

He further emphasized, "Through this, we wish to develop the China-South Korea strategic cooperative partnership in a positive and stable manner, and achieve regional prosperity and stability."

The South Korean delegation at the meeting included First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yun-ju, Director-General for Northeast Asian and Central Asian Affairs Nam Jin, Ambassador to China Roh Jae-heon, and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister Kwon Won-jik.

The Chinese side was represented by Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Le-cheng, and Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.

This marks the first Korea-China prime ministerial meeting in seven years, since the meeting between then-Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and Premier Li Keqiang in 2019.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.