The Republic of Korea’s national day reception to celebrate the 30thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK was held in Wuhan, Hubei Province on August 24. Vice Governor Zhao Haishan attended and addressed the reception.

Zhao extended festive congratulations to the ROK Consulate-General in Wuhan and ROK expatriates in Hubei. He noted that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin held talks earlier this month, charting the course for the bilateral relations and opening up new opportunities for subnational friendly exchanges. The ROK is one of the closest partners of Hubei Province. Zhao indicated Hubei’s readiness to work with the Consulate-General and expats from all walks of life, upgrade the economic cooperation, and promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges, so as to inject vitality into China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership.

Consul-General Kang Seung Seok expressed his gratitude to the government of Hubei for its continued support. He recalled that China and the ROK, with forward-looking strategic perspectives, formally established diplomatic relations 30 years ago. Ever since then, the bilateral ties have taken a major leap forward and as a result, have brought tangible results to the two countries and peoples. He said that China and the ROK have always been good neighbors sharing great cultural similarities. It is imperative to carry forward this long-standing friendship and open a new chapter for the bilateral relations in this new era.

To celebrate the occasion, the organizer also staged performances featuring traditional folk artists from the ROK and Hubei and themed light show along the Yangtze River.