1. Second Vice Minister Cho Tae-yul will visit Beijing, China, on July 29-30 and attend a “workshop on the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative,” hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. During his visit, the Vice Minister will also meet with high-level Chinese government officials and discuss follow-up measures to the ROK-China Summit.

2. The upcoming visit is part of efforts to improve each country’s understanding of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative and create momentum for cooperation in the international community. The ROK government is actively pursuing the Initiative to overcome the “Asian Paradox,” which refers to deepening regional conflicts over historical and territorial issues despite increasing economic interdependence.

o In the “ROK-China Joint Statement for Future Vision” issued last year, China expressed its position of greatly appreciating and supporting in principle the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative. Since then, China has continuously expressed its support for the Initiative on the occasions of summits and high-level dialogues and actively participated in concrete cooperation in environment, including in the areas of nuclear safety and fine dust.

3. During his visit to China, Vice Minister Cho will also meet with Foreign Minister Yang Yi and high-level officials of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. In the meetings, the two sides will discuss how to pursue follow-up measures to what was agreed upon during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the ROK in early July. They will also hold extensive discussions on ways to make more substantive progress in their bilateral strategic cooperative partnership, including cooperation on the UN Security Council reform and other global issues.

4. Vice Minister Cho’s visit to China will serve as an opportunity to convey the ROK government’s strong willingness to pursue the Initiative to the Chinese side, build wider consensus and support on the Initiative in China, and explore specific ways for the two countries to work together to implement the Initiative. Furthermore, the visit is expected to contribute to strengthening strategic communication between the governments of the two countries, thereby persistently developing their strategic cooperative partnership. 

                         Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation