On October 29, 2025, the Chinese delegation attending the 3rd China-ROK Governors' Forum paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Kim Min-seok of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Seoul. The delegation was led by Yin Hong, Secretary of the CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee, and included Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), as Deputy Head of Delegation; Chen Jing, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and President of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Shan Yi, Vice Governor of Liaoning Province; Zhang Qixiang, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province; and Muheyati Jarmuhammat Muheyati Jarmuhammat, Vice Chairman of the People's Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Niu Liqiang, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the ROK; Yoo Jeong-bok, Mayor of Incheon and President of the Governors Association of the Republic of Korea; Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju; and Min Ki, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, were present at the meeting.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok extended a warm welcome to the Chinese delegation attending the Governors' Forum. He noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the ROK and China, bilateral ties have generally maintained positive momentum. He noted that President Xi Jinping's participation in the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and his state visit to the ROK are of great significance, adding that the ROK government attaches high importance to the visit and looks forward to substantial outcomes.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok commended the CPAFFC for its longstanding and active contribution to advancing people-to-people friendship and subnational exchanges between the two countries. He emphasized that stronger cooperation between subnational governments forms a solid foundation for the further development of bilateral relations. Through the joint efforts of both sides, the China-ROK Governors' Forum has become an effective institutional platform for subnational government exchanges. As this year's forum takes place on the eve of President Xi Jinping's state visit, it carries particular significance. He expressed the hope that both sides would seize this opportunity to further deepen subnational cooperation across various fields and jointly advance the overall development of China-ROK relations.
The Chinese delegation expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Kim Min-seok for taking the time to meet with them. They noted that, over the 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-ROK ties have generally maintained a stable and positive trajectory. At this crucial stage of improvement and development, President Xi Jinping's state visit to the ROK—his first in eleven years—is expected to inject new impetus into the growth of the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership and elevate it to a new level.
The delegation highlighted President Xi Jinping's observation that "when China-ROK relations are good, both sides benefit; when they are not, both suffer". They noted that the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has outlined the blueprint for China's economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030). China will remain committed to pursuing high-quality development, deepening reform, expanding high-level opening up, and fostering new quality productive forces. The Chinese side welcomes greater investment from the ROK—particularly at the subnational level—to share development opportunities, explore new areas of cooperation, and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results.
The delegation further stressed that subnational exchange and cooperation constitute an integral part of China-ROK relations and have played a unique role in strengthening bilateral ties. The forum aims to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and to enhance the stability of bilateral relations through the certainty of subnational cooperation. Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, both sides should broaden exchanges among subnational governments, pursue pragmatic cooperation for shared development, and deepen people-to-people friendship to strengthen connectivity between peoples—thereby contributing to the steady, sound, and long-term growth of China-ROK relations.
