On the morning of June 1, the Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng,e invited to visit Korea and to sign the China-KOREAFTA, visited the Korean President Park Geun-hye officially at the Blue House of Seoul, ROK.

Gao delivered President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings and best wishes to President Park Geun-hye and read the congratulatory letter.

Gao said that, driven by the concerns of President Xi Jinping and Your Excellency President, the China-KOREAFTA completed the negotiation by only two years. Especially, the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and Your Excellency President in July last year during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Korea is of great significance to the signing of the agreement. The official signing and implementation of China-KOREAFTA will not only enhance the bilateral economic and trade relation to a new level, but also further enrich the connotation of China-Korea strategic cooperative partnership, and bolster the further development of the bilateral relations.

Park Geun-hye expressed her gratitude to President Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter, and asked Gao Hucheng to convey her greetings and wishes to President Xi Jinping, and delivered her congratulatory letter.

Park Geun-hye said that, during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Korea in June last year, the two parties agreed to reach a high-level free trade agreement, making the people of the two countries fully enjoy the benefits of trade liberalization. The official signing of the agreement today is an important milestone of the bilateral relations, and ROK will spare no effort to drive the agreement to come into effect as soon as possible and be implemented smoothly. She hoped that the two parties would not only expand cooperation in trade and investment, but also deeply promote the bilateral cooperation in industry, culture and energy.

The Chinese Ambassador in Korea Qiu Guohong, the Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen and the Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended the meeting.