On February 6, 2024, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, had a telephone conversation with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Dui-yeol at request.
Wang Yi congratulated Cho Dui-yeol on his appointment as the Foreign Minister of South Korea, saying that China and South Korea are each other's important neighbors and cooperative partners. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, bilateral relations have achieved fruitful results, brought great benefits to the people of the two countries, and also played a positive role in promoting regional peace. China maintains stability and continuity in its policy towards South Korea, and always regards South Korea as an important cooperative partner. It is hoped that South Korea will pursue a positive, objective and friendly policy towards China, adhere to the one-China principle, safeguard the political foundation of China-South Korea relations, and push bilateral relations back to a healthy and stable development track. China and South Korea have close economic ties, and the production and supply chains are highly inter-embedded. Both sides should jointly maintain the stability and smoothness of the production and supply chains and resist the politicization, pan-security and instrumentalization of economic issues.
Zhao Duiyeol said that after the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China, cooperation between the two countries has achieved rapid development. South Korea-China relations are very important. The South Korean government attaches great importance to developing relations with China and is willing to enhance mutual trust, focus on cooperation, intensify high-level exchanges with China, continuously accumulate achievements in economic, cultural and other fields, and promote the sustainable development of bilateral relations. South Korea's one-China position has not changed. South Korea and China have close economic and trade ties. South Korea agrees that economic and trade issues should not be over-security. The two sides can strengthen communication and coordination on maintaining the stability of production and supply chains.
Wang Yi emphasized that “distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.” The new year is the Year of the Dragon. We hope that China-ROK relations will carry forward the "dragon-horse spirit", show a new atmosphere, open up new prospects, and better benefit the two peoples. Both sides believe that it is very important to reaffirm the strategic partnership between China and South Korea.
The two sides also exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Wang Yi said that the current tensions on the peninsula are justified and he hopes that all parties will remain calm and restrained, refrain from words and deeds that aggravate tensions, and resolve their respective legitimate concerns through dialogue and consultation.