CPAFFC Vice-President Yuan Mindao makes video speech marking opening of Month of Activities Celebrating 30th Anniversary of China-ROK Diplomatic Relations

Zhou Xiaodan

O n Aug 17， the month of activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic relations opened in Jinan， Shandong province. It was hosted by the Shandong Provincial Peoples Government. More than 2，000 participants from all walks of life in China and the Republic of Korea attended the event in person or online.

Li Ganjie， secretary of the Shandong Party Committee， and Zhou Naixiang， governor of Shandong province， attended or addressed the opening ceremony. Yuan Mindao， vice-president of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， was invited to deliver a video speech at the opening ceremony.

In his speech， Yuan noted that China and the ROK are geographically close to each other and culturally connected. Over the past three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties， China and the ROK have been committed to mutual respect， equality， win-win cooperation， common development， openness， inclusiveness and mutual learning. Bilateral cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results and brought benefits to the two countries and peoples.

Facing the complex and volatile international situation and various risks and challenges， the two sides should stick to the original purpose of establishing diplomatic relations and ensure the steady and lasting progress of China-ROK friendship， he said.

Yuan noted that Shandong is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. It is also one of the Chinese provinces having the earliest cooperation with the ROK， the most active exchanges and the largest number of friendship cities. The ROK is Shandongs second-largest trading partner and second-largest source of foreign investment. The two sides have made gratifying achievements in economic and trade exchanges， personnel exchanges and friendshipcity cooperation.

Yuan expressed hope that the event would help both sides seize opportunities， convey friendship， showcase achievements and achieve win-win cooperation.

The theme of the event is “30 years of win-win cooperation and together for a shared future”. A number of activities were scheduled， including the China-ROK Industrial Docking Exhibition， the Joint Conference on Friendship and Cooperation Between Friendship Cities， the Confucianism Exchange Conference， a symphony concert and a picture exhibition on 30 years of China-ROK cooperation， among others. It covers economy and trade， think tanks， environmental protection， youth， culture and other fields to play a positive role in further strengthening local exchanges and practical cooperation between China and the ROK.