외교부

China and its Relations with the Republic of Korea

Mr. Seok Tong-youn
Consul-General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong

March 17, 2009

City University of Hong Kong

It is an honor to present my views on China and Korea-China relations at such a prominent school.  Your university is highly recognized for pioneering Korean language education in Hong Kong.  I hope that Korea Week provides Hong Kong students with an opportunity to enjoy various cultural events and gain in-depth understanding of Korean language and culture.  I would like to extend my deep appreciation to those that selflessly dedicated their time and effort to organize this event. 

Visiting a university is always so refreshing.  The campuses are always brimming with energy and hope.  I am reminded of how precious youth is.  I say this with hopes that you will cherish this moment, which is the golden age of your lives.

Today, I would like to discuss two main points:  One is China.  China is clearly the biggest topic of the 21st century.  I will be discussing China today and China in the future, with a particular focus on the economy.   Another is Korea and China.  Where are Korea-China relations now and where are they headed?

They are questions that I have been asking myself for a long time as a diplomat involved in Korea-China relations.  And they will surely be questions that I continue to ponder down the road.  They are also questions that are very pertinent to Korea.  What happens to China has a direct impact on Korea.

Please understand that the views that I share with you today will be my personal views as a China watcher, not as a representative of the Republic of Korea. 

I.  China’s Economy: Present and Future

1. 2008: A year of upheavals and transformation

First, let us begin by examining where China is now and where China is headed.  You will agree that talking about China is like a blind man feeling an elephant.  There is only so much that one can cover.  One also needs to be mindful of the breakneck pace of change in China.  So, perhaps I could set the year 2008 as a starting point. 
We all know that numerous events took place in China last year.  Many of them were quite unfortunate: the record heavy snowfalls, the disturbances in Tibet, the massive earthquake in Sichuan, and the melamine in milk products. 

Against such adversities, however, the government and the people of China showed tremendous solidarity.  They were unfazed even in face of the mammoth natural calamity in Sichuan that claimed more than 70,000 lives and left astronomical amount in damages.  In fact, the Chinese people displayed high level of maturity and unity through donations and volunteer efforts.

Last year was also a year of immense jubilation.  China realized its centenary dream.  The Beijing Olympics was a remarkable success, contrary to the skeptical views around the world.  China launched a charm offensive to the world with the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies.  They displayed the profundity of Chinese culture and confidence in the nation’s future.  The Olympics were immediately followed by another epochal event in China.  Shenzhou No. 7 and China’s first spacewalk was a proud testament to the incredible advancement and achievement in science and technology. 

Then, China celebrated another monumental event in 2008 — thirty years anniversary of reform and opening up.  The drive toward reform and opening up is not without obstacles both from home and abroad.  However, China would not be where it is now, if not for that drive.   

2. A different China after thirty years of reform and opening up

Just a few statistics suffice to demonstrate the achievements of reform and opening up.  According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in late October, China averaged an annual growth rate of 9.8% over the past three decades.  As of 2008, China’s GDP accounted for 6% of the world economy, placing China 3rd in ranking, following the US and Japan. 
China’s per capita income in 1978 was a mere 190 US Dollars.  In 2008, that grew by more than 17-fold to 3,260 US Dollars.  During the same period, trade volume jumped by more than 128-fold from 20 billion US Dollars to over 2.56 trillion US Dollars.  That makes China the third largest trader, after the US and Germany.  China’s foreign currency reserves totaling 1.94 trillion US Dollars is the largest in the world as of 2008. 

Economic structure has also shifted from a predominantly backward agrarian economy to one focused on modern commerce and industry.  Many economic experts foresee Chinese economy growing larger than those of Japan in just a matter of a short time.  In fact, economists are now competing to present their mid-term to long-term prospects on when China’s economy will outpace that of the US.  On top of that, the current global financial crisis is revealing the problems and limitations of the US-centric international economic order, demanding a bigger role on the part of China.

3. The Rise of China—an undeniable reality

Based on its unprecedented economic growth over the past three decades, China is also becoming a formidable force in international arena.  The rise of a wealthy and powerful China is changing world order.  As a matter of fact, since the 1990’s, China has been capitalizing on its growing economic power to begin shaping the world order. 

China’s international strategy is largely composed of four parts: China’s relations vis-a-vis (i) the superpowers, (ii) the neighboring countries, and (iii) the developing nations, and (iv) China’s multilateral diplomacy.  China has been impressive in all four areas.  With the superpowers, the growth in China’s comprehensive power and influence stimulated competition as well as the need for cooperation and collaboration. 

That has been precisely the dynamics in China’s relations with the United States, which have remained stable.  And there should be no major shift even with the new Obama Administration in Washington.  With Russia, China is pursuing strategic cooperation, while issues of conflict are being put aside and advances are being made to improve ties with Japan. 

With regard to the developing nations, China is actively strengthening solidarity and cooperation with them.  Recently, China has been jointly developing resources with Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. China’s diplomacy vis-à-vis its neighbors and multilateral diplomacy are also drawing considerable attention.  Within the region, China is actively participating in the ASEAN+3, ASEAN+1, and EAC.  At the same time, China strives to become the focal point in Central Asia, and Northeast Asia through the SCO and Six-party Talks.

Both in international organizations, such as the UN, and regional organizations, such as APEC, China is not only gaining voice, but also expected to increase its participation and responsibility.  What does all this mean?  Simply put, “the rise of China.”  At this point, it is already a given fact and an undeniable reality.   At one point, some experts warned of a looming crisis in China.  Now, those arguments have been silenced, while all the attention has shifted to the rise of China and how to perceive of and cope with that reality. 

Is the rise of China a blessing or a curse?  Depending on the situation, responses greatly vary.  Should you jump on the bandwagon of the rising China?  Should you keep the rising China in check?  Should you be hedging in order to avoid the possible risks?  I will discuss those later in my talk about Korea-China relations, but basically, I believe the rise of China is an opportunity rather than a threat, and Korea needs to take full advantage of China’s rise. 

The wise thing to do is to make sure that China rises peacefully and in a way that is beneficial to the rest of the world.   China, on its part, is making every effort to allay the fears of those that argue that China is a threat, while striving to expand its cultural charm and so-called soft power.

Without doubt, the Beijing Olympic Games was telling proof of China’s strengthened diplomatic clout.  Among those attending the opening ceremony were leaders from 84 states.  That proves the paramount importance of China.  Some media reports referred to it as the “return of the king(王者歸來).”  The Olympics was a way for China to parade its culture to the rest of the world, and instill pride in the minds of its people. 

China deserves to drink champagne for the achievements thus far, and celebrate the success of the Beijing Olympics and the three decades of reform and opening up.  I also extend my congratulations to China. The process toward the so-called rejuvenation of China (中華復興) has already begun.  But we cannot help but ask: How long will China be able to sustain this success trend?  China is indeed massive and its rate of development astonishing, but the challenges that China faces are also staggering.  How China addresses those challenges will shape China’s future.

4. China’s challenges

Last year, China was busy putting out fires that broke out one after another.  Some compare China’s current problems to “growing pains.”  Too much focus on quantitative growth has bred environmental pollution, destruction of the ecosystem, and serious waste of resources.  For example, China consumes half the cement, one-third of the coal, and one-third of the iron and steel produced in the world. 

However, China’s share of world GDP is only 6%.  That means that China’s economy is overspending energy and other resources.  Development imbalance is another spark that could potentially ignite social unrest.  The regional gaps, urban-rural discrepancies, and class gaps are all incendiary issues.  

Too much focus on efficiency (represented by the black cat, white cat analogy) has compromised social justice and distribution. The surge in the Gini Coefficient, a measurement used to gauge social inequality, is sounding alarm bells.  China is also faced with the triple woes relating to agriculture—namely, farming, farms, and farmers. In addition, corruption has long been a source of severe headaches. 

On top of that, the resurfacing of issues associated with the minority undermine and threaten social unity.  The strong sense of nationalism that was emboldened by the Olympic Games and the growing energy of the civic society could also be a double-edged sword for China’s social stability and economic growth. 

The widespread social participation by the young generation, also known as “balinghou (80後),” brings both advantages and disadvantages.   The “human flesh search (人肉檢索)” in cyberspace was a case of extreme and uniform collectivism.  The demands of the Chinese society become increasingly individualistic and pluralistic. 

However, Chinese policy-makers find it difficult to meet those demands, as they are hamstrung by those with vested interests. To make matters worse, the world economy is headed for a meltdown.  There are concerns of a prolonged global financial crisis and economic recession.  That puts a damper on the outlook for the Chinese economy, which is highly dependent on exports and foreign direct investments.  

5. Counter-measures by the Chinese government

Fortunately, the Chinese leadership is taking quick action, based on a sense of urgency with regard to the current situation.  They have defined the quantitative development that caused environmental degradation and severe income gaps as unscientific, and have introduced a new “scientific development model.” 

The scientific model stresses environmentally-friendly growth and high-efficiency for sustainable growth.  The scientific development model is already being implemented as I speak, following the endorsement at the 17th National Congress in October in 2007.  The Chinese government is also making efforts to protect the rights and benefits of the workforce by introducing the Labour Contract Law. 

Indiscriminate investments have become more discerning and selective, with focus on attracting sophisticated technology and environmentally-friendly projects.  China is also striving to upgrade its industrial structure and update science and technology. 

At the same time, China is moving away from an export-oriented economy to one that stimulates domestic consumption, applies stringent environmental regulations, and encourages Chinese businesses to invest overseas and become global enterprises.

The Third Plenum of the 17th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee agreed to embark on another round of rural reform and then the Eleventh National People’s Congress this March derived action plans for rural reform. Although the rural areas provided the initial spark for reform, they now constitute the worst bottleneck, preventing the economy from moving forward.  The Chinese leadership came to realize that without rural reform, China could not expect a pick up in domestic consumption to drive the economy forward.  Without rural reform, they could not resolve rural-urban gaps, class gaps, welfare gaps, urban poverty, unemployment, and so forth. 
In November 2008, the government also unveiled a RMB 4 trillion (USD 580 billion) stimulus package to fight the global financial turmoil and sustain growth.   The question is:  Will such efforts steer China in the direction of macro economic stability and sustained growth? I would like to conclude the first part of my talk by discussing the outlook of China’s economy.      

6. China’s economic outlook

I personally see 2009 as the year in which China will be tested on whether or not it is ready to join the ranks of global economic superpowers.  Such view is not unrelated to the view of the pessimists regarding the post-Olympics Chinese economy.  They argue that 2009 will be the year in which China’s bubble bursts, or the high-growth trend comes to a halt. China’s growth has been rapidly decelerating lately.  The figure for the 4th quarter of in 2008 was 6.8%, which is the lowest in 5 years.  Exports—the biggest engine of China’s economy—are also showing signs of subdued growth. 

The Chinese economy is expected to shrink even further this year, when the ripple effects of the global financial crisis reach the real economy.  However, I tend to disagree with some of the economists that project the possibility of a hard landing of the Chinese economy.

Indeed, as China economy pessimists stress, China’s economy is currently showing signs of slowdown, and that has taken a toll on the stock market and real estate market.  The contributing factor, however, is not the global economic slowdown alone.  Domestic factors, such as China’s policy adjustments and the post-Olympics syndrome (Valley Effect) also have a considerable impact. 

To a certain extent, China’s exposure to the global financial crisis was limited since Chinese financial system is not fully connected to the global financial market. Once the ripple spreads to the real economy this year, China may not be spared from the troubles.

However, China is equipped with many macroeconomic policy options to induce a soft landing.  They include abundant foreign currency reserves, fiscal surplus, room for interest rate adjustments, and a high reserve requirement ratio.  As a matter of fact, China recently utilized one of them.  The government announced the RMB 4 trillion (USD 580 billion) fiscal stimulus package as an antidote against the economic meltdown. 

This stimulus package plans to tap 10 major area: budget housing, rural and key infrastructure construction, social safety net improvements, environmental protection, industrial innovation, income support for low income people, stronger financial support for growth. 

Although assessments vary by institution, it is generally expected that this fiscal stimulus policy would have the effect of adding 2-3% to the GDP growth rate of China in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

In my opinion, China will be able to sustain 8% of solid growth for a considerable time for the following four reasons, among others.

One, as a developing country, China has huge potential for further industrialization.  China’s industrialization is at the intermediate level, with its manufacturing sector currently accounting for around 43% of GDP.  Recently, China released a grand scheme for promoting 10 major industries.  They are steel, non-ferrous metals, automobiles, light industries, petro-chemicals, among others.  Such scheme itself indicates prospectively enhanced industrialization for China.
  Two, the nation is likely to accelerate urbanization. China’s degree of urbanization is a mere 44.9%, far lower than the global average of 57%.  Presently, as many as 15 million migrate from China’s rural areas into urban areas every year.  I believe that inevitably requires additional construction of infrastructures such as housing, water service, electricity and sewage system.  Of course, rehabilitation from the Sichuan earthquake will also demand large scale construction projects.
 
Three, Chinese ’s consumption pattern will be upgraded.  Among other things,  China evolves into an overall well-off society(小康社会) by 2020 and their consumption propensity will grow sustainably.

Four, China’s foreign currency base is very solid.  Unlike the economic model of the United States, China has consistently pursued “low consumption, high savings “ and has ample room for maneuvering its policy instruments.

Apart from the short-term challenges of sustaining steady economic growth amidst a global financial turmoil and stabilizing the stock and real estate markets, China also needs to sustain its growth in the mid-to-long term.  To do that, China will be compelled to introduce significant changes in legislation, policies regarding resources and environment, and its economic growth model.

Increasing pressure on resources, growing environmental pollution, and shrinking arable lands constitute some of the major impediments to sustainable development. 

On top of that, other stumbling blocks include education and population: aging population and shrinking workforce, unstable social welfare system, and lack of investment in education.  China needs to devise mid-to-long-term measures to combat those issues.
The Chinese government has already begun its deliberations on the blueprint for a new economic system that will enable sustainable development for the next three decades. 

Under the banners of “scientific development” and “harmonious society,” they seek to strike a balance between growth and distribution, economic development and political reform, and development and environmental preservation. 

I believe that China will be successful in finding the solutions, despite the many challenges ahead.  Immediately following the 17th National Congress, a Korean scholar wrote a commentary titled, “The Secret of Chinese Communist Party’s Long-term Rule.”  This commentary painted a rather optimistic picture of China’s future. So what is the secret?  According to the writer, it is the Communist Party’s ability to transform and reinvent itself. 

Over the decades, the Communist Party has been very adept at identifying the change of trends and adapting to those changes by transforming itself.  I fully agree with that view.  It is clear that the 70 million or so that make up the Communist Party are the actual forces behind China. 

One cannot overlook the fact that there are widely varying views on whether or not the scope and pace of change in China can keep up China’s current rate of growth and maintain social stability. 

However, it is my opinion that a thriving China is a boon for not only Korea, but also the entire world.  If a rising China were to suddenly freefall, it would be catastrophic to Korea.  At this point, Korea’s future is evidently intertwined with China.  Having said that, let me move on to Korea-China relations.  

II.  The Present and Future of Korea-China Relations
 
1. Background

For Hong Kong, the year 2007 was one in which the city celebrated the 10th anniversary of its return to China.  In terms of Korea-China relations, however, it was more than that. It was also a year that marked the 15th anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic ties. 

However, Korea-China relations actually go much farther back.  For over 2,000 years, the two countries have developed close ties with mutual exchange and influences.  It was only in recent history that Korea and China chose separate paths—capitalism and socialism—and were further drawn apart for some 40 years due to the Cold War following the Korean War. 

When the Cold War ended, the two nations set out to restore their ties by normalizing relations in August 1992.  During the following 17 years, Korea and China improved their ties to the envy of the rest of the world. 

Last year, bilateral relations have been raised to the level of “strategic cooperative partnership.”  The driving force behind the growing ties is economic cooperation, and China’s high-rate economic growth provides a strong impetus. 

However, it would be a mistake to say that Korea and China only have economic interests in each other.  The backbone of their close friendship is the many similarities exclusively shared between them.  Let us examine the current status of their relations, the factors that help to improve their relations, and their challenges and prospects in the 21st century.

2. Seventeen years of Korea-China diplomatic ties: Current status and future prospect

A. Economy and Trade

The pace of improvement in Korea-China relations in just 17 years is amazing, but the scope of development is even more striking. Improvements were made in political, social, and cultural aspects, as well as in bilateral travel and exchanges.  The most notable improvement is clearly in economy and trade. 

With the two economies being mutually complementary, Korea and China were able to pursue mutually beneficial economic growth.  Bilateral trade volume jumped almost 37-fold from a mere 5 billion Dollars to 186 billion Dollars in 2008. That is equal to an average growth rate of 25% every year. 

Presently, China is Korea’s #1 trading partner and Korea’s #1 destination for exports as well.  To China, Korea is its fourth trading partner after the US, Japan, and Hong Kong. Korea-China trade volume is reaching the size of Korea-US and Korea-Japan trade volume combined. 

Korea and China set the goal of reaching a trade volume of 200 billion Dollars by 2012. Considering the global financial crisis, meeting the goal may be delayed. Notwithstanding, bilateral trade volume will continue to increase. In investment, China is again Korea’s #1 destination, and Korea’s total investment in China since 1992 amounted to a total of 39 billion Dollars.

B. Bilateral travel and exchange

Travel between the two nations also grew just as impressively as economic exchange.  In the early 1980’s, there were a mere 40,000 travelers per year between the two nations.  Now, the number has jumped to 5.8 million. 

Moreover, the 60,000 Korean students studying in China are unmistakably the biggest group of foreign students, accounting for 40% of them.  In Korea, Chinese students take up 70%(40,700) of the foreign student group.  The 700,000 Koreans living in China, and the 530,000 Chinese living in Korea, each create the biggest foreign community in their respective host countries. 

To keep abreast of such growth, each week, 830 flights operate between 6 Korean cities and 31 Chinese cities.  On a daily basis, some 120 planes are servicing 12,000 Koreans to various destinations in China.

C. Politics and foreign affairs

To support such remarkable growth in economic cooperation and exchanges, Korea has set up seven consulates throughout China, in addition to the Korean Embassy in Beijing.  They are in Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenyang, Chengdu, Xi’an, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. This year, another consulate will be added in Wuhan.  Korea is the only country to have as many as seven consulates in China. 

High-level exchanges are also active between Seoul and Beijing.  President Lee Myung Bak already visited China three times:  a state visit to China in May, participation in the Beijing Olympic Games in August, and attendance at the ASEM Summit in October.  This year, dialogue between the leaders of Korea and China is expected to continue on the fringes of G20, APEC, ASEAN +3 and the Korea-China-Japan tripartite summits.  President Hu Jintao also visited Korea immediately following the Beijing Olympic Games.  That was his second official visit to Korea.  During President Lee’s May visit, the two heads of state agreed to raise bilateral relations to the level of strategic cooperative partnership. 

When President Hu made his reciprocal visit to Seoul after the Olympics, the two leaders set forth the specific vision for the new relationship between the two nations.  The scope of cooperation between Seoul and Beijing will stretch beyond bilateral issues to include regional and global issues, and the depth of their relations is expected to grow. 

In December last year, Korea and China signed a currency swap agreement.  The agreement is expected to have a stabilizing effect on the regional finance and economy as well as on those of the two signatory nations. In order to ride out the current global crisis, Korea and China will reinforce coordination at G-20 summits and so forth. 

Above all, given that more than 60% of the economies of both Korea and China depend on trade, Seoul and Beijing are expected to step up joint efforts to combat protectionism that is gaining force in face of the current global financial crisis. 

They are also expected to collaborate more closely in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue within the framework of the Six-party Talks.

3. Engine driving rapidly expanding bilateral relations

Many people find hard to believe the pace at which Korea-China relations have grown.  I believe there are five major reasons for that. 

First, their economies are mutually complementary.  Korea is a rare case of a country that went from complete ruins in the aftermath of war to joining the ranks of advanced nations in just half of a century.  Such compressed national growth serves as a rare and valuable reference for China.  At the same time, Korea’s capital and sophisticated technology, combined with China’s abundant labor and immense market, created an outstanding synergy for economic development in both countries. 

Second, Korea and China are geographically very close.  Shandong Province is so close to Korea that there is a saying that goes: When the rooster in Shandong croaks at dawn, you can hear it in Korea. Many are envious that the growth energy and momentum along China’s eastern coast are being transferred to Korea. This is also attributable to the geographical proximity.  In fact, it would be safe to say that Korea is probably the only country from which the nation’s leader can embark on a single day trip to China.

Third, the two nations share a long history of close ties.  As I mentioned earlier, Korea-China exchanges go back more than 2,000 years.  Therefore, it would be a mistake to examine only the past 17 years of their relations. 

Fourth, Korea and China share cultural similarities.  Apart from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other overseas ethnic Chinese, Korea and Japan are the only countries that use Chinese characters. 

In addition to the Chinese characters, however, Korea was also influenced by Confucianism, Chinese ancient literature, and Chinese medicines, which the Koreans have further developed in their own unique ways. 

Nowadays, countless numbers of Chinese people are avid fans of Korean TV drama series.  I understand that they have contributed a great deal to fostering friendship between Korean and Chinese people.  The TV programs help them to see cultural similarities.

Among others, one major reason is that those programs contain elements of Chinese tradition that were either lost or forgotten.  Korean culture, as reflected in Hanliu, is a creative combination of ancient cultures that Korea and China share and western culture that Korea adopted and transformed in the process of modernization.
Fifth, “strategic consensus.”  Korea and China share common interests in peace, stability, and common prosperity on the Korean peninsula. 

For China’s steady economic growth, it is imperative that the situation on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia stays stable.  That is why China supports a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and hopes that stability will be maintained in the process towards improvement in inter-Korean relations.  For Korea, peace and stability has a direct bearing on its survival, and China’s support is crucial. 

What is even more critical is that China provides support with more pending issues, such as denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, inducing North Korea to reform and openness, and eventual re-unification of the two Koreas. Under the new framework of strategic cooperative partnership, Seoul and Beijing will try to share the strategic viewpoint for other regional and global issues.

4. Korea and China in the 21st century: challenges and outlook

The five points that I have illustrated helped Korea-China ties to advance in leaps and bounds, and they will continue to serve as the backbones of future bilateral relations.  However, the expanding bilateral exchanges are not without certain disagreements along the way.  Some of them concern history, culture, trade and treatment of North Korean defectors.

More recently, during the Beijing Olympic Games, Chinese spectators shocked the Koreans by supporting and cheering for the Korean counterpart teams.  One could dismiss such unfavorable actions as being a one-off phenomenon, or as being “limited to certain people.” However, considering that such sentiments often resurface, particularly among the young Internet generation, I believe it would be wise to carefully examine the root causes and reflect on the actions and reactions. 
Perhaps it would be naïve to expect no conflicts between two nations that generate 186 billion Dollars of trade, exchange close to 6 million visitors a year, and have 700,000 and 530,000 residents in each other’s countries.  

In other words, as exchanges grow between two close neighbors, there are bound to be issues on which they do not see eye to eye.  What is more, in this day and age, a single careless comment in the Internet could rapidly spread to an entire nation and instantly sour the relations between two nations. 

Furthermore, some Koreans display concerns about the Chinese nationalistic pride that is growing in tandem with the size of their economy. 

Also, some are uneasy about Korea’s high level of dependency on Chinese economy and are further apprehensive about the risks of a change in the Chinese growth model. 

However, in the long-term, I believe the big picture is that mutually beneficial and complementary factors far outweigh the conflicting and challenging factors.  Hence, I believe that Korea and China can continue to strengthen their ties for a long time. 

It is, of course, important to seek a new cooperation strategy in line with the rise of China and constantly changing world.  Again, the rise of China in the 21st century is an irrevocable reality that the entire world has to face, and the most practical way for a small-to-mid-sized nation, such as Korea, to survive and prosper under such circumstances is to minimize the risks that the rise of China brings, while actively capitalizing on new opportunities.

The current developments that work positively toward bilateral ties will continue to work in favor of the two nations in the future. The vision and leadership of the new leaders in both Korea and China will be instrumental in shaping the new relationship.  Under the new strategic cooperative framework, I personally feel that the two nations need to become more open and daring and be prepared to discuss more sensitive issues that may affect bilateral relations in the future. 

Even at a private level, the people of Korea and China should take their exchanges one step further to strengthen empathy and build trust and understanding. China’s development and transformation over the past thirty years may have been incredible, but the changes that the next thirty years may bring may be unfathomable. 

If we remain mindful and alert to those changes and manage them to develop bilateral ties accordingly, I believe we could look forward to an even brighter future in bilateral relations. 

Thank you very much for your attention. /END/