"China's development is not a surprise. The reform and opening-up policy has awakened Chinese people's thousands-year-long commercial talent and caused China to bloom," said Kwon Byong-hyun, former South Korean ambassador to China, in an interview with Xinhua recently.

Kwon, 70, participated in the negotiations for the establishment of Sino-South Korean diplomatic ties in the early 1990s and has been South Korean ambassador to China from 1998 to 2000.

As a witness of the development of Sino-South Korean relations, he described the rapid development of Seoul-Beijing cooperation as "unique" and is beneficial to both sides.

China has become South Korea's largest trade partner, and largest import and export market during the past several years. Since the two neighbors set up diplomatic ties in 1992, bilateral trade has risen from 5 billion U.S. dollars in 1992 to almost 160 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.

A total of more than 6 million South Koreans and Chinese visited each other's country last year. About 700,000 South Koreans inhabited China while 530,000 Chinese lived in South Korea in 2007.

"If there was no reform and opening-up policy in China, all development in Sino-South Korean ties is unimaginable," he added.

Kwon, invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 8, said, "The ceremony was so magnificent and beautiful, revealing the economic achievement by the Chinese people during the past three decades."

The former ambassador said he was deeply touched when Chinese basketball star Yao Ming and a 10-year-old survivor and hero of the May earthquake in China's Sichuan province walked together into the stadium.

"I realized that Chinese people now begin to move their steps toward the central arena of the world with totally new spirits and images," he said.

Kwon said, "The magnificence of the opening ceremony reminds me of my first trip to China in early 1990s."

Before South Korea and China forged diplomatic ties in 1992, there were no direct flights linking Beijing and Seoul. Therefore, Kwon had to fly to Hong Kong and then transfer to a flight to Beijing.

"Now there are over 830 flights traveling through major cities between South Korea and China each week, while the service and management of Chinese airliners are as good as any other competitors in the world. That's an example showing how great changes have happened in China since then," Kwon added.

Since retiring from the Foreign Ministry, Kwon has been working as president of the Korea-China Culture and Youth Association to promote people-to-people exchanges and heads environmental programs, especially tree-planting projects in Chinese desert areas.

"Now I travel to Beijing or other places in China almost every month. Each time, I found a totally new China. Compared with what I saw during my first journey to China, the earthshaking changes have happened in cities and rural areas all over China," he said. "Such changes also happen to the Chinese People. The whole country and its people are so dynamic," Kwon said.

On the prospect of Sino-South Korean ties, Kwon said that "as close neighbors, South Korea and China had shared prosperity and difficulties in history. With the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy as well as a 'Good-Neighbor' diplomacy, China will provide more opportunities to its neighboring countries."

"On the basis of the economic development in the past 30 years, China will definitely have another great leap in economic and social development," Kwon added.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2008)