Xi's ROK tour greatly significant to regional peace

Chinese President Xi Jinping's just-concluded two-day visit to South Korea has further promoted bilateral ties and contributed to regional peace and stability, analysts and observers say.[Special coverage]

Kim Han-kwon, director of the Center for China Studies at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in South Korea, said Xi's visit has deepened the two country's cooperation in such fields as security, economy and culture.

"It is a boost not only to the political trust between leaders of the two countries, but also to the friendship between the two peoples. It has injected new driving force into future development of relations between South Korea and China," he added.

The director called on the two counties to maximize their common core interests, put aside differences and seek for common ground as their bilateral ties stand at a best time in history.

Cha Jae-bok, a researcher with the Northeast Asian History Foundation of South Korea, said Xi's visit is of great significance to bilateral ties, especially in the field of economy.

During the visit, the two sides signed a deal on establishing arrangements for the Chinese yuan clearance in Seoul and agreed to push for the completion of their free trade agreement negotiation by the end of this year.

Those decisions will boost South Korea's financial markets, and promote the process of economic integration among Asian countries, Cha said.

Shin Seong-ho, associate dean of the Office of International Affairs at Seoul National University, believed that Xi's speech at his university, instead of focusing solely on South Korea-China ties, gave a broad and in-depth blueprint of the development of Asia and the whole world.

It is strategic and future-oriented, conveying positive messages to the audience, Shin added.

Ha Young-ae, a professor at Kyung Hee University, said the Chinese president's visit has bolstered the confidence of the South Korean public in the development of ties between the two countries.

She said she would encourage her students to carry forward the South Korea-China friendship and shoulder the heavy responsibility for Asia's peaceful rejuvenation.

Jiro Honzawa, a Japanese political commentator, believed that Xi's visit could serve to contain the right-wing forces in Japan. The deepening of China-South Korea ties could help safeguard peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as the whole East Asia, he said.

His views were shared by Qian Feng, vice director of the Chinese-language newspaper Asian Daily in Thailand. "The two heads of state reached consensus on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which laid a foundation for regional stability," he said.

In the opinion of senior Indonesian political analyst Bambang Suryouno, the free trade agreement under negotiation between China and South Korea could also bring benefits to Southeast Asian nations.

The free trade agreement could promote realization of economic integration in East Asia. If China and South Korea joined hands with Indonesia and other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), they would form gigantic economic forces, which will in turn exert vital influence on the world economy, said the analyst.

Chheang Vannarith, a senior researcher of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said Xi's visit has lifted China-South Korea ties to a new height.

China-South Korea cooperation in the field of economy and trade will further consolidate mutual trust between the two countries, thus to promote peace and development of the entire East Asia, he said.

During his South Korea visit on Thursday and Friday, Xi met with a number of South Korean leaders and politicians, and the two sides confirmed over 90 cooperation programs covering 23 fields.