Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Beijing on Saturday with President of South Korea Lee Myung bak, who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on Friday night.

The presence of Lee at the Beijing Games and the strong South Korean delegation indicate the importance South Korea attaches to the Games, Hu said, "We express our thanks for this."

Hu said he and Lee had exchanged views on further developing China-South Korean strategic cooperative partnership during Lee's visit to China earlier this year. "Today I'm ready to continue our discussions on the development of bilateral relations and issues of mutual concern."

Lee congratulated China for its successful Olympics opening ceremony, which he described as a great event featuring traditional Chinese culture as well as high technology.

As an Asian, Lee said, he was proud of the success of the opening ceremony.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)