On 1 November, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council attended the welcoming luncheon hosted by the business community of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Seoul and gave a keynote speech. The following is the text of the speech:

Let China-ROK Cooperation Constantly Yield New Beneficial Fruits

Keynote Speech by H.E. Li Keqiang
Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
At the Welcoming Luncheon Hosted by
The Business Community of the Republic of Korea

Seoul, 1 November 2015

Chairman Park Yongmann,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to attend today's luncheon. I still vividly remember my meeting with friends from the four economic groups during my last visit four years ago. And what a delight it is to see both old and new friends here today.

Autumn is a season of harvest. Following the successful visit by President Xi Jinping to the ROK last year and the visit by President Park Geun-hye to China in early autumn this year, I have come to visit this country in late autumn. Such frequent exchange of high-level visits has brought another bumper harvest to the China-ROK relations. During this visit,leaders of the two countries reached broad consensus on consolidating political mutual trust and deepening cooperation in economy, trade, culture and other fields. The two sides signed a series of cooperation agreements covering trade, investment, industry and finance and discussed exchange and cooperation in the cultural field. These achievements are conducive to promoting the development of our two countries and will benefit our people. For example, kimchi and ginseng chicken soup are not just favorite food of the ROK people, but also popular among Chinese consumers. Many Chinese tourists coming here like to buy some for families and friends back home. Isn't it interesting that Chinese cabbage and fresh chicken meat, after being exported to the ROK and cooked with your unique technique,are served back in China as delicious ROK specialty in average Chinese families. Such a travel of Chinese cabbage and chicken meat epitomizes the close economic cooperation between our two countries. Now the two sides are working hard to solve the technical issues so that more Chinese people can enjoy these delicious food.

Twenty-five years ago, the "Golden Bridge", a ship that sailed from Weihai to Inchon, launched the journey of friendly exchanges between China and the ROK in the new era. Thanks to our concerted efforts, bilateral economic cooperation and trade have enjoyed sustained, rapid growth. We have become each other's major trading and investment partners. This has given a strong boost to our economic growth. In 2014, two-way trade volume approached US$300 billion, some 60 times the figure when we established diplomatic ties. People of the two countries now exchange visits as frequently as relatives, mutual visits hit 10 million last year, and over 1,000 flights travel between our two countries every week. The launch of China-ROK FTA will only open broader prospects for our business cooperation.

The China-ROK relations are now at their best in history. Facing the severe challenge of weak global economic growth, the two countries should all the more deepen cooperation and join hands to cope with the challenge, to achieve win-win outcomes at a higher level. In my meeting with the senior executives of several large ROK companies just now, they all expressed a strong desire for closer cooperation. Here, I wish to share with you my ideas on our future cooperation.

First,jointly safeguard the peaceful home of East Asia. One can make new friends but cannot choose his neighbors. Amity with neighboring countries benefits both the country itself and its neighbors and contributes to regional security and prosperity. We have the responsibility to maintain and develop our common home of Northeast Asia. Temporary victory may be determined by one's might, but lasting victory is determined by whether one has justice on his side. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War. China and the ROK fought side by side against foreign invasion and colonial rule,and have stood firm with justice and conscience on the history issue. A gentleman befriends those with the same ideal. China will firmly follow the path of peaceful development and stands ready to work with the ROK to jointly uphold the victorious outcome of the Second World War and the contemporary international order based on the Charter of the United Nations as a staunch force for historical justice. Whether the Korean Peninsula is at war or peace and whether it is in chaos or stability has a direct bearing on our common future. China remains committed to advancing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, to safeguarding peace and stability of the Peninsula, and to supporting resolving issues through dialogue and consultation. China is ready to work with the ROK to push for desired outcomes at this China-Japan-ROK leaders meeting, and enhance coordination and cooperation at the ASEAN Plus Three, the East Asia Summit and APEC to support settling disputes through dialogue and avert regional tensions. This is to foster a larger environment of security and stability for business exchanges and people's livelihood, and will anchor market expectation in the long run.

Second, boost mutual opening up and integrated development. As China and the ROK are both at a critical juncture of structural reforms and upgrading of development, it is imperative for us to seek and expand new room of cooperation. The official signing of the China-ROK FTA is a milestone in our economic ties. China, for the first time, committed to engage in service trade and investment negotiations based on pre-establishment national treatment and a negative list. And in particular, higher commitments were made than those in the FTAs with other countries concerning the rules in the areas of financial and telecommunication services. It is estimated that the two countries will form a low-tariff common market worth US$12 trillion. This is bound to create more business opportunities for our companies. We hope the ROK side will speed up the approval procedures so that the agreement could take effect at an early date. As regional economic integration has become the trend of the times, our two countries should work to accelerate the negotiations of the China-Japan-ROK FTA and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to lay a more solid foundation for East Asian integration and the building of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

Third, build a new platform for synergizing our strategies of innovation-driven development. China is pursuing the strategy of driving development through innovation, encouraging mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and carrying out the action plans of "Made in China 2025" and "Internet Plus". The ROK is concentrating on developing an innovation-oriented economy and implementing the strategy of "Manufacturing Innovation 3.0". Our strategies of seeking innovative development dovetail with each other in many aspects. The two sides have agreed to jointly establish a China-ROK Innovation Industrial Park in mid-west China. For the initial stage, several cities of the two countries have been selected to host the industrial park, and efforts will be focused on developing industrial clusters in new energy, new materials and smart manufacturing. The two sides should encourage our research institutions, universities and businesses to carry out joint R&D and share research results, strengthen collaboration on cultivating innovation talents, and push for aligning China's "Mass Innovation Space" with the ROK's "Economic Innovation Center" in wide-ranging aspects to build a networked platform for our young people to start their own business.

Fourth, cooperate to explore third markets. China and the ROK need to not only tap cooperation potential, but also expand cooperation space. Both countries have large companies and high-quality industrial capacity in automobile, steel, ship-building, chemicals and engineering machinery, and enjoy respective strengths in capital, technology,equipment and engineering construction. Many countries have strong demands for infrastructure-building and development of the manufacturing sector, and the market prospect is vast. Businesses in China and the ROK may explore the possibility of cooperation on infrastructure and production capacity in third countries, including ASEAN countries, to jointly expand international market and support the efforts of countries concerned to advance industrialization and urbanization. The two governments will use various cooperation mechanisms to carry out consultation and exchanges to support the cooperation between Chinese and ROK businesses. China supports synergizing the "Belt and Road" Initiative and the "Eurasia Initiative", and is ready to boost international cooperation on production capacity through such platforms as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China-ROK cooperation on production capacity will benefit not only our own development, but also world economic recovery.

Fifth, further enhance financial cooperation. Economic development of and cooperation between China and the ROK cannot go without financial support. As our economies become increasingly interdependent, to expand and upgrade financial cooperation has become a major trend. During this visit, China and the ROK agreed on the establishment of a mechanism for direct trading of the yuan and the ROK won at China's Foreign Exchange Trading Center. We will be glad to see and support ROK issuance of RMB-denominated sovereign bond in China's inter-bank bond market. We have decided to extend the pilot program conducted in Qingdao, under which Chinese businesses could borrow RMB loans from ROK banking institutions, to the entire Shandong Province, raise the investment quota of ROK's RQFII from 80 to 120 billion yuan and promote the infrastructure inter-connectivity between the Chinese and ROK bond markets. The two sides are having discussions on establishing an innovation and investment cooperation fund. I believe that strengthened China-ROK cooperation in the currency and capital markets will satisfy the needs of both sides in financing and investment, and contribute to the stability of regional financial markets.

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges provide the social foundation of state-to-state relations and fertile land for deepening cooperation. China and the ROK are linked by a strong historical and cultural bond. Story about the Silla poet Choe Chiwon coming to study in China in the late Tang Dynasty is still much told today. Pyohaerok, the book by Choi Bu of early Joseon Dynasty recording his experiences in China, is renowned as the Eastern equivalent of the Travels of Marco Polo. Nowadays, Korean TV drama are highly popular in China, while more and more people here are learning Chinese. In the coming three years, China will invite 1,000 ROK high-school and college students to attend the Chinese Bridge summer camp in China, to promote exchanges between our young people. I heard that some ROK businessmen even got inspired by the Chinese classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms on how to run their companies successfully. Our two countries should join hands to put our people-to-people exchanges on a regular and institutionalized basis and deepen practical cooperation in education, science, technology, culture and health, as well as between think tanks, media organizations and at the local level. As President Park Geun-hye said, we should become friends before we do business. As our people become closer to each other, cooperation in all areas will become more mature and smooth, bringing more benefits to the two peoples.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Chinese and ROK economies are deeply intertwined. Some ROK friends said jokingly that the South Koreans care more about China's economic situation than the Chinese. And there are also some worries. I wish to tell all friends here that there is no reason to feel concerned about China's economic prospect. On the contrary, there are promising things to expect.

The fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain sound. China's economy, though inevitably affected by the slowing world economic growth, remains broadly stable and is making steady progress. The economy grew by 6.9% in the first three quarters, in keeping with the target of around 7% that we set at the beginning of the year. The economy has been running within the proper range, with people's income rising fast and employment steadily expanding. We have the confidence and capacity to meet the major targets for the whole year. The around 7% growth of an economy as large as US$10 trillion generates a bigger increment than that under the double-digit growth in the past. We are among the fastest growing major economies in the world, contributing as much as 30% to the global economic growth. As an ancient Korean poem reads, "Having experienced my fair share of perils in life, lesser troubles are nothing alarming". The Chinese economy is now in a crucial stage of transiting from being fueled by traditional drivers to new ones. Despite fluctuations of some indicators in the short term, the long-term positive trend of the Chinese economy remains unchanged. Last year, over 100 million outbound visits were made by Chinese tourists, and over 6 million were to the ROK. The number of overseas visits grew by 7.7% in the first three quarters this year. Chinese tourists traveling abroad not only go on sightseeing, but also go shopping. This not only contributes to the economies of other countries, but also demonstrates their confidence in the Chinese economic prospect. To complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, China's economy needs to grow at over 6.5% on average for the coming five years. Therefore, to maintain medium-high growth is our goal for economic development.

The structural reform in China is now paying off. Under the new normal in economic development, the entrenched structural problems are the main constraints for steady economic growth. In our effort to comprehensively deepen reform, we are focused on structural reforms, accelerating reforms in such key areas as fiscal and taxation, financial services, investment and financing, and pricing. We will continue to streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen supervision and improve services, and encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation, to unleash the enormous market dynamism in wider areas. Recent years have seen positive progress in China's economic structural adjustment, with the service industry taking up half of the GDP and consumption contributing to nearly 60% of the growth. The high-tech industry has been growing faster than the overall industry, domestic demand is playing a bigger role in driving growth, and the new engine of innovation is gaining steam. The Chinese economy will become more robust through structural improvement, and it will maintain medium-high growth in the long run and move to a medium-to-high level.

The Chinese economy enjoys tremendous potential, resilience and much room for maneuver. A population of 1.3 billion plus the deepening of a new type of industrialization, IT application, urbanization and agricultural modernization promise a gigantic market. For example, the urbanization rate in China is less than 55%, while that of the ROK is 90%. We are promoting a new type of people-oriented urbanization to enable more people to settle down in towns and cities. This will generate enormous investment and consumption needs. For another example, given the uneven development in China, the vast central and western regions have a great potential for development. Tapping into such potential will unleash strong and durable dynamism of growth. At the same time, facing the short-term economic fluctuations, the government has many tools at its disposal in exercising innovated macro-regulation. We will make good use of a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy, and on the basis of range-based regulation, effectively conduct targeted and discretionary regulation. We will strengthen counter-cyclical regulation as appropriate and properly handle and defuse risks to ensure smooth economic performance. The Chinese Tai Chi boxing believes in overcoming firmness with gentleness, while the Korean Taekwondo combining speed and power. By learning from both traditional sports to use both forcefulness and gentleness and take both aggressive and defensive measures, we can overcome the current downward pressure and achieve sustained steady growth.

China is ready to open wider and pursue common development with the rest of the world. We will build a multi-dimensional opening-up architecture. We will further lower the threshold of foreign investment access, advance the building of pilot free trade zones, open wider the service sector and emerging industries, and foster a more fair and transparent market environment for foreign businesses, to make China the most attractive investment destination in the world. As a Chinese saying reads, "A waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first." The ROK is our close neighbor. As China opens itself up to the world, it will create a window of opportunity for ROK enterprises to expand investment in China and share the dividends of China's development. The central and western part of China, in particular, has favorable investment environment and terms. China welcomes more ROK companies to explore the business opportunities in its vast hinterland.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the past 50 years, China and the ROK have gone through a similar course of development. The people of the ROK created the "Miracle on the Han River", and China's reform and opening-up also created the "China Miracle". As our development trajectories converge, the friendship and cooperation between the two countries become closer. I was told that the Chinese traditional music instrument Zheng and ROK's national instrument Gayageum can play similar tunes. I hope that the business communities in the two countries will fully use your creativity and imagination to jointly play a beautiful piece of music and embrace an even better tomorrow for our people!

Thank you.