Nat'l Assembly speaker urges China's vice premier to develop economic cooperation

▲ South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (L) poses for a photo with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Sept. 4, 2025, in this photo released by the South Korean parliament. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Assembly speaker-China

Nat'l Assembly speaker urges China's vice premier to develop economic cooperation

By Yi Wonju

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik has held a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and urged Beijing to develop economic cooperation with Seoul at a time of rapidly changing economic order, according to Woo's office on Friday.

Woo made the remarks at a meeting with Ding, China's No. 6 official, in Beijing on Thursday, stressing the need to further develop the mutually beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries amid the "changing international environment."

Woo was on a four-day trip to Beijing and attended a huge military parade that marked China's celebration of the end of World War II.

Woo told Ding that attendance by President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea would serve as a "crucial" turning point for advancing their bilateral ties, according to Woo'soffice.

At the meeting, Woo also called for efforts to produce "meaningful results" in follow-up negotiations on the South Korea-China free trade agreement (FTA) and to strengthen joint responses to supply chain disruptions, including stable access to critical minerals.

Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport as he arrived home earlier in the day, Woo described his handshake with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as "meaningful in itself."

Woo's office earlier said the two exchanged greetings and shook hands before attending the military parade in Tiananmen Square marking China's anniversary of victory over Japan in World War II.

According to Woo, he told Kim, "It's been seven years since we met," to which Kim briefly replied, "Yes, nice to see you."

"The trip not only achieved its intended goal of advancing South Korea-China cooperation but also reached an unexpected outcome regarding the Korean Peninsula issue," Woo said.

Woo and Kim met for the first time during the historic 2018 summit between Seoul and Pyongyang, when Woo was serving as the Democratic Party's floor leader.

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