President Park Geun-hye expressed her vision and hopes for Korea-China cooperation on an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV on July 2. The interview was held a day before a Korea-China summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will pay a two-day state visit to Korea on July 3.

During the interview, President Park said that President Xi’s visit will bear a fruitful outcome, which will further deepen trust and friendship between Seoul and Beijing, just as her state visit to China last year offered a good opportunity to advance bilateral relations.



Referring to President Xi’s state vision titled “Chinese Dream,” President Park said that the vision has a lot in common with the goals she has proposed, which include “an era of hope” and “an era of the happiness of the people.” She dubbed these goals “Korean Dreams.”

“As rivers from China flow into the Yellow Sea, where rivers from Korea also flow, I have an expectation that both the dreams of China and that of Korea can harmonize each other and become a broader dream of Northeast Asia,” said President Park.

In regard to Korea-China economic cooperation, the president said, “If both countries can conclude the free trade agreement (FTA), bilateral economic cooperation will expand and the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries will be upgraded a notch.”

With regard to people-to-people exchange between Korea and China, President Park said measures to boost exchanges between students of the two countries will make them better understand the two cultures and become friends. As well as leading to the strengthening of friendships, bilateral cooperation will continue to evolve. In this regard, President Park said she will discuss more detailed measures at a working level with her Chinese counterpart.

In regard to the security issues of the Asian region, President Park said President Xi’s vision for a new Asian security highlights the need among Northeast Asian countries to make concerted efforts at enhancing regional peace and security. President Xi Jinping proposed his vision for common, comprehensive, cooperative, sustainable security in Asia, at an international security summit in Shanghai this May. President Park valued what his vision contributes to improving security in Northeast Asia and world peace, as it urges related parties to gather together to seek ways to boost peace and security.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr