Chinese, ROK's leaders pledge to promote ties

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye pledged Wednesday in a telephone discussion to further relations between their countries and make more efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Initiating the call, Park offered congratulations on Xi's election as Chinese president and lauded "the Chinese Dream" that Xi has promoted to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the well-being of the Chinese people.

Xi, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was elected president of China and chairman of China's Central Military Commission last week at the plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress.

Park said her country, which is also devoted to national development and the improvement of the people's well-being, and China have shared governing concepts and extensive common interests.

South Korea is willing to work together with China to promote high-level and people-to-people exchanges, and enrich cooperation connotations to push forward the development of bilateral ties, she said.

Expressing his appreciation of Park's congratulations, Xi said the ever growing Sino-South Korean ties in the past 20 years have brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their peoples, and played an important role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

Xi emphasized the importance of enhanced mutual understanding, trust and cooperation to the two countries as well as regional peace and development under the current circumstances.

The Chinese president said China has taken South Korea as an important partner of strategic cooperation and is ready to join hands with it to push their relations to a higher level.

Xi noted that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is relevant to the interests of the Koreans and the Chinese people.

China, which has been long devoted to realize denuclearization on the Peninsula through dialogue and consultation, is willing to provide assistance necessary to the reconciliation and cooperation between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and South Korea, he added.

All parties concerned in the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula should make efforts to ease the current tension and achieve turnabout of the situation.

Park echoed Xi, saying South Korea is ready to join the efforts for denuclearization on the Peninsula, and work with China to safeguard peace, stability and prosperity on the Peninsula and in a wider East Asia.