Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 23, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

HANGZHOU, Sept. 23 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday met with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province.

Noting that China and the ROK are immovable close neighbors and inseparable cooperative partners, Xi said the steady and solid advancement of the bilateral ties serves the common interests of the two countries and their peoples, and bodes well for regional peace and development.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1992, friendship and cooperation have always been the mainstream of China-ROK relations, said Xi.

He expressed the hope that the ROK will work with China in the same direction, formulate policies and take actions that demonstrate the importance attached to China-ROK relations, uphold mutual respect, and stick to the direction of friendship and cooperation.

The modernization of China, with its 1.4 billion-plus population, will further unleash huge market opportunities, Xi said.

Noting that China and the ROK enjoy close economic ties and deeply integrated industrial and supply chains, Xi said the two countries can deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen their communication and coordination, and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction.

As a close neighbor of China, the ROK sincerely wishes the Hangzhou Asian Games a complete success, Han said.

In the face of numerous challenges in the current international community, maintaining high-level exchanges between the ROK and China is conducive to advancing the development of bilateral ties and collaborating to address these challenges, he noted.

The ROK is willing to work with China to foster a healthy and mature bilateral relationship, Han said, expressing the hope that the two sides strengthen cooperation and exchanges to jointly contribute to global economic recovery and growth.

Senior Chinese leaders including Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and Shen Yiqin attended the meeting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 23, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]