During his meeting with visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Choi Sung-Hong, Premier Zhu Rongji said that China will continue to do all it can for the maintenance of peace and stability on the peninsula, adding there were no hidden agendas.

But he also stressed the pivotal role of the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in efforts, expressing the hope that the two sides will exert joint efforts for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhu welcomed the upcoming visit by the ROK presidential envoy to Pyongyang, the DPRK capital.

He backed the resumption of talks between the two sides and expressed the hope that the ROK will continue its relaxed policy towards the DPRK.

ROK envoy Lim Kong-won is scheduled to leave for Pyongyang on April 3. He will carry a letter from ROK President Kim Dae-Jung to DPRK leader Kim Jong-Il.

China's stance on the Korean Peninsula was appreciated by the ROK guests, according to the Chinese spokesman.

The ROK will continue its relaxed policy, resume talks at an early date and properly handle relevant issues to keep up the momentum for national reconciliation, Choi told his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan at a separate meeting held earlier Thursday.

Thursday's meetings took place during the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK.

On Wednesday, as a part of the celebration, the Year of China-ROK National Exchange kicked off in Beijing.

Backed by both Premier Zhu Rongji and his ROK counterpart Lee Hanh-dong, a seminar on Sino-ROK economic cooperation was held in Beijing on Wednesday.

Hailing the rapid development in bilateral ties in the past decade, Zhu said Thursday that Sino-ROK relations have entered a new stage of development and called for greater efforts.

He highlighted trade and economic ties between the two countries, saying that China's entry to the World Trade Organization has offered a broader perspective for economic cooperation.

Also speaking highly of current bilateral ties, Choi said the ROK is willing to take the opportunity of the 10th anniversary celebration to further develop comprehensive and reciprocal cooperation with China.

In a related development, Zhu told ROK participants in a Sino-ROK economic symposium in Beijing Thursday that China encourages ROK entrepreneurs to invest more in China.

He said business circles in the two countries are highly complementary and have many things to learn from each other and cooperation potential is therefore high.

(China Daily March 29, 2002)