Yang Jiechi, China's Foreign Affairs State Councilor, Visits Governor Kim

Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪), China's State Councilor of the State Council, who is visiting Korea to attend high-level Korean-Chinese diplomatic and security strategy talks on the 19th, held an unusual meeting with Governor Kim Moon-soo.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 19th that the two shared lunch at the governor's official residence at the request of State Councilor Yang Jiechi and exchanged views on cooperation between Korean and Chinese local governments and recent global issues.

Governor Kim introduced Gyeonggi Province in his remarks, saying "Gyeonggi Province is the region with the most foreign residents, and among them Chinese nationals account for 50 percent, making it a place with many Chinese," and added, "With State Councilor Yang Jiechi's visit, we look forward to more active exchanges and cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and China."

State Councilor Yang responded, "China and Korea have established many sister city relationships. In particular, Gyeonggi Province has established sister relationships with six regions in China, which sufficiently demonstrates the importance of Gyeonggi Province," and said, "Although the visit period is not long, I find this visit very satisfactory."

The Province explained that State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who served as deputy director of China's Foreign Ministry before being appointed in March this year as State Councilor, the highest-level policy official overseeing China's diplomatic and security policies, is equivalent to the rank of deputy prime minister in Korea.

Kim Hyun-soo, director of Gyeonggi Province's Exchange and Trade Division, said, "This meeting was made at the request of State Councilor Yang Jiechi," and stated, "It is extremely unusual for a current high-ranking official from China's top echelon to request and have a meeting with the Gyeonggi Province governor."

Meanwhile, State Councilor Yang Jiechi is leading a delegation of about 30 Chinese government representatives, including Meng Hongwei (猛宏偉), deputy director of China's Ministry of Public Security, and Liu Zhenmin (劉振民), deputy director of the Foreign Ministry, on a three-day visit that began on the 17th.

On the 18th, he paid a courtesy visit to President Park Geun-hye, and had comprehensive exchanges of views with National Security Strategy Chief Kim Jang-soo on Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asian regional situations, including the North Korean nuclear issue and Japan's military normalization.

It is interpreted that China's internal government evaluation of Gyeonggi Province, which is conducting the most proactive and systematic exchanges and cooperation projects with China among domestic local governments, greatly influenced this visit by State Councilor Yang to Gyeonggi Province.