On March 31, 2016 local time, President Xi Jinping met in Washington, D.C. with President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea (ROK), exchanging in-depth views on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common concern.

Xi Jinping pointed out that since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and the ROK 24 years ago, the bilateral relations have always maintained a stable and rapid development. China attaches great importance to its relations with the ROK and always takes the development of the relations as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. Currently, a series of important consensus reached by President Park Geun-hye and me is being implemented in an all-round manner, and achieved numerous positive results. It is our shared historical mission to maintain, consolidate and develop China-ROK relations. China is ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all fields with the ROK and ensure that China-ROK relations will always develop healthily and steadily along the right track.

Xi Jinping stressed that both China and the ROK should maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, make good use of a series of strategic communication mechanisms to keep close coordination, accommodate each other’s major concerns, and respect each other’s sovereignty, security and development interests. China welcomes the ROK’s active participation in the construction of the “Belt and Road”. Both sides should accelerate the docking of national development strategies, concentrate on the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), deepen financial cooperation, promote substantial progress in the construction of China-ROK Industrial Park at an early date and push forward the economic integration process in East Asia. The two countries should expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and support each other to make a success of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games and the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games. China is willing to work with the ROK to successfully carry out the programs including the ROK Tourism Year and the Young Leaders Forum, encourage communication between the two peoples and serve personnel exchanges of the “Ten Million Plus” era. The two sides should beef up cooperation within institutions such as the UN, the G20 and the APEC, and enhance communication and coordination on issues of global significance.

Park Geun-hye said that she agrees to President Xi Jinping’s comments on the ROK-China relations. The ROK and China maintaining close high-level exchanges demonstrates the importance of bilateral relations. The ROK pays high attention to the relations with China, stands ready to promote the continuous development of ROK-China strategic cooperative partnership based on deepening mutual trust, and agrees that both sides should enhance high-level strategic communication and carry out close exchanges at all levels and in all fields. Against the current global economic circumstances, it is more necessary for the two sides to strengthen practical cooperation in economy and trade and other sectors, speed up the implementation of the ROK-China FTA, and achieve the docking of the “Eurasia Initiative” and construction of the “Belt and Road”. The ROK is in favor of carrying out close people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries and supporting each other to hold successfully the Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games and the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Xi Jinping welcomed Park Geun-hye to visit China to attend the G20 Hangzhou Summit this September. Park Geun-hye accepted the invitation and expressed that the ROK is ready to make positive contributions to the success of the summit.

The two heads of state also exchanged views on the situation of the Korean Peninsula. Xi Jinping stressed that China adheres to the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and solving the issue through dialogues and consultations, and proposes that all sides should carry out relevant UN Security Council resolutions in a comprehensive and overall manner. China urges all other sides to avoid any words and deeds that might aggravate tension of the situation and not to damage the security interests and strategic balance of countries in the region. Dialogues and consultations are the only correct direction to tackle the issue, and China is willing to make constructive efforts to promote the resumption of dialogues within the framework of the Six-Party Talks. Park Geun-hye stated the ROK’s views on the current situation of the Korean Peninsula and expressed the willingness to maintain close communication with China on the related issues.

Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Yang Jiechi and others attended the meeting