South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has hailed the
development of Sino-South Korean relations, saying he believes the
partnership will grow ever closer.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Han said he believes a
visit from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on April 10-11 will inject
new impetus to Sino-South Korean relations, which have rapidly
developed since the two countries established diplomatic ties 15
years ago.
The prime minister highlighted the complimentary cooperation
between the two countries, saying such cooperation is beneficial to
both sides and will continue.
Citing China's strength in some advanced scientific areas such
as space flight and South Korea's relative edge in
technology-concentrated industries, the prime minister said he
believed bilateral economic and trade relations in the future will
be both competitive and cooperative, but stressed cooperation will
be of greater importance.
Both countries have also closely cooperated on foreign affairs,
anti-terror, non-proliferation and environmental protection, said
the prime minister.
The relationships between the people and governments and their
economic cooperation will continue to develop, Han said.
Non-governmental exchanges play a dominant role in fostering
friendship and the prime minister said his country will provide
better system guarantees for non-governmental exchanges, including
adopting the free-trade agreement (FTA).
Speaking of the FTA deal which was reached between South Korea
and the United States on Monday, the prime minister said the pact
will further promote bilateral trade and investment, boost the
South Korean economy, create more jobs and improve the income of
its citizens.
He said South Korea is keen on free trade. It is currently
contacting India and Canada for possible FTA deals and is also
pondering how to revive the stalled South Korean-Japanese FTA
talks.
China is South Korea's major cooperation partner, and the
governments as well as the industrial and academic circles of both
countries are jointly studying the establishment of the Sino-South
Korean free-trade zone before deciding when to launch their FTA
negotiations.
The prime minister spoke highly of China's rapid development in
recent decades, saying it has provided opportunities for new
development of South Korea's economy.
He also praised China's role in establishing the peace mechanism
on the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability in
East Asia and world-wide.
South Korea will maintain its cooperation with China in a
responsible manner, he added.
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2007)
