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Korea and China Strive to Reinforce a Strategic Partnership

The 13th Korea-China Forum for the Future, which was held at the Diaoyutai Guest House in Beijing (June 17-18), served as a valuable opportunity to conduct in-depth discussion on the efforts to further upgrade the strategic partnership of Korea and China.



In their congratulatory remarks during the opening ceremony, Korea Foundation President Yim Sung-joon and CPIFA Honorary Chairman Li Zhaoxing highly praised the impressive development of Korea-China relations, along with expressing their expectations for a heightened role of the Korea-China Forum for the Future, so as to keep pace with the upgraded strategic partnership between the two countries.
Thereafter, Korean Ambassador to China Shin Jung-seung delivered a keynote speech in which he noted how this forum had contributed to reinforcing the trust and confidence between Korea and China, through constructive discussion, while also expressing his hope that the forum would continue to play a vital role in the promotion of bilateral relations. CPIFA President Yang Wenchang stated that the two countries, along with strengthening their bilateral relationship, should also make efforts to cooperate not only with each other but with other countries in the region as well, and to expand exchange activities at the private level.

Cooperative Efforts
The initial discussion session focused on the recent political situation on the Korean Peninsula and Korea-China cooperation to assure the stability of Northeast Asia. The featured speakers included Chinese Institute of International Affairs research specialist Yu Shaohua and Seoul National University Professor Jeong Jong-uk. The two sides agreed that the recent political situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, which is now moving along a path toward stability and peace, should be upgraded to include regional and international cooperation. They also agreed that since stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula represented a common goal of Korea and China, both countries should continue to actively cooperate to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms program and to adopt reform and openness.

Economic Relations
During the second session, discussion centered on a Korea-China free trade agreement (FTA) and cooperative efforts related to economic and environmental matters. Woori Finance Group Executive Director Kim Dong-gwang called for Korea and China to negotiate a comprehensive FTA that includes dismantlement of non-tariff barriers, improvement of the business environment, and opening up of the service sector, which would serve as a basic framework to facilitate the qualitative development of economic and trade relations between the two countries.
The Korean side also noted that it was necessary to assure institutional support for the expansion of two-way investment and to ease various finance-related restrictions. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences research specialist Chai Yu pointed out that the two economies are highly complementary in structure and thus well-suited for an FTA arrangement, which would prove to be highly beneficial to both countries. The two sides also agreed to promote expanded cooperation in the construction of energy facilities and to jointly develop new technology for the energy and environmental sectors.



Cultural Exchange
The theme of the third session included efforts to boost personnel and cultural exchanges in order to enhance bilateral understanding. Renmin Ribao senior reporter, Xu Baokang, emphasized the need to develop social and cultural exchange programs, with a focus on qualitative aspects, and to implement exchanges of media professionals between Korea and China. Seoul National University Professor Kim Gwang-eok suggested ways to encourage next-generation cooperation between Korea and China through youth exchange activities. In addition, the Korean and Chinese participants suggested various proposals for youth exchange, including a home-stay program for Korean and Chinese youth, cultural Olympics for students, and establishment of sisterhood relations between schools damaged by the recent Sichuan earthquake and Korean schools.
The following day, CPIFA arranged a tour of Harbin City for the Korean delegation, who visited a business and trade fair to acquire firsthand knowledge about the current status of Korean enterprises doing business in China. It was also meaningful for the group to visit the memorial hall of Unit 731, a notorious Japanese military medical unit that conducted experiments on human beings, called maruta or logs, during World War II.
The 13th Korea-China Forum for the Future provides an effective venue for bolstering bilateral cooperation and development, in qualitative and quantitative aspects, in line with the upgraded strategic partnership between Korea and China. Of note, this year's gathering provided an opportunity to demonstrate the compassion of the two countries when Korea Foundation President Yim Sung-joon presented the Chinese side with a donation, on behalf of the Korea Foundation, for the Sichuan earthquake relief efforts. As for CPIFA, it hosted a delightful dinner for the forum participants at the garden area of its building. Above all, the importance was again confirmed of how Korea and China, as strategic partners, should jointly cooperate and play a leadership role in Northeast Asian and at the global level, beyond the expansion of bilateral exchange and cooperation in the economic, social, and political sectors.

Forum Participants
The 21-member Korean delegation, headed by Korea Foundation President Yim Sung-joon, included representatives of the political arena, such as Kim Deok-ryong, former Chairman of the Korea-China Inter-Parliamentary Council; Park Sang-eun, National Assembly member; Kim Won-ung, former Chairman, Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, National Assembly; Kim Bu-geom, National Assembly member; and Ku Hui-gwon, Senior Expert Advisor, Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, National Assembly. From the Chinese side, 15 prominent representatives from the political, government, and international relations sectors participated in the forum, including Li Zhaoxing, Honorary Chairman, Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA); Zhao Qizheng, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

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