South Korea opened a consulate general in Xi'an, Shaanxi
Province, on Thursday.
Yoo Jai-hyon, first consul general of the Xi'an mission, said at
the inauguration ceremony that South Korea and China have made
great progress in political, economic and cultural cooperation
since the two countries forged diplomatic ties, while the exchanges
between South Korea and western China regions are still in their
early stages.
"With the implementation of China's western development drive,
South Korean businesses and tourists are becoming increasingly
interested in China's west and we anticipate that the opening of
the new consulate general in Xi'an will help enhance the exchanges
and cooperation," Yoo said.
Yuan Chunqing, provincial governor of Shaanxi, said the opening
of the consulate general marks a significant achievement for the
exchanges between the two countries.
He hoped cooperation between Shaanxi and South Korea would be
further promoted to achieve mutually-beneficial results.
Aside from Xi'an, South Korea has opened consulates general in
five cities on the Chinese mainland: Shenyang, Qingdao, Shanghai,
Chengdu and Guangzhou.
It is also the first foreign consulate general to be established
in Xi'an.
Last year, the China-South Korea trade volume reached US$134.3
billion, increasing by almost 26 times from more than US$5 billion
in 1992, when the two countries established diplomatic ties,
according to the China Council for the Promotion of International
Trade.
South Korea has become China's sixth largest trade partner after
the EU, the US, Japan, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations), and the Hong Kong region. China is South Korea's No. 1
trade partner and export market.
(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2007)
