CRI听力:Park: Dreams Propel China-ROK Cooperation

South Korean President Park Geun-hye says she expects more pragmatic cooperation between China and South Korea. She made the comment ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to her country.

CRI's Xie Zhao has more.

The Chinese President's state visit to Seoul starts on Thursday.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye says she hopes the visit takes bilateral relations to a new high.

Park also says both countries should work together for the well-being of their respective people.

"President Xi brought up the 'Chinese dream' as a national vision and it has much in common with my idea of the South Korean dream which aims to build a new era of hope and national happiness. I think the two dreams share the same ultimate goal and it's an important reason why the two countries should enhance cooperation."

She says there will be more pragmatic cooperation between the two countries after the trip.

China and South Korea will release a joint paper during President Xi's visit.

Both sides are also set to sign cooperative documents pertaining to the economy and trade, finance, the environment and consular affairs.

South Korean Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se says both sides have made remarkable achievements in nearly every respect, especially the economic ties.

"The development in economic aspect has been rapid as always. The free trade agreement negotiations between China and South Korea have been smooth despite some problems."

Kwon says he hope President Xi's visit will propel negotiations on the China-South Korea free trade agreement, which is set to enter the 12th round of talks later this month.

Official numbers from South Korea show the volume of bilateral trade exceeded 270 billion US dollars last year.

The figure was a mere 6 billion US dollars when the two countries established diplomatic relations 22 years ago.

China has become South Korea's largest trading partner and export market, while South Korea is now the third-largest trade partner and the fifth-largest source of foreign investment for China.

For CRI, I'm Xie Zhao.