Marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China, President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages today.

In his message, President Moon gave high marks to the remarkable development of bilateral ties in a wide range of areas over the past 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. He said this was attributable to the enhancement of mutual understanding and trust through close communication and exchanges as well as cooperation between the two Governments and peoples, based on which ties between our two countries evolved into a more mature relationship.

In addition, President Moon noted the fact that he and President Xi forged a consensus on the direction of future developments in bilateral relations when they met in Germany in July, adding that he highly valued Korea-China relations. Moreover, President Moon said he looked forward to continuing to advance bilateral ties based on such a consensus into a substantive, strategic cooperative partnership contributing to peace and progress in Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula, and the rest of the world, going beyond the two country’s mutual prosperity.

President Xi said that bilateral relations have made steady progress thanks to joint efforts by the two countries over the past 25 years following the establishment of diplomatic ties. He continued that the relationship has brought tangible benefits to the peoples of both nations and made significant contributions to peace and development in the region and that these outcomes were valuable. 

Noting that he regarded Korea-China relations as very important, President Xi expressed the hope that the two nations would work together to further strengthen mutual confidence concerning political matters, deal with divergent views properly and develop bilateral ties in a stable and sound manner.

In addition to the exchange of the messages by the two leaders, Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi also exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Minister Kang expressed the hope that by building upon the mutual understanding the two leaders achieved in July, the two nations would strengthen cooperation in the years to come and, particularly, continue to endeavor together for the fundamental resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem and the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula, amid the gradually increasing nuclear threats from the North.

Minister Wang expressed the hope that the foreign ministries of the two nations would boost communications and exchanges, advance mutual understanding and trust and develop bilateral relations in a sound and stable manner.