President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo held separate meetings yesterday with visiting South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan.

Hu said China will work with South Korea to promote further development of bilateral ties, thus helping their overall cooperative partnership yield more results.

Both sides also exchanged views on issues such as the progress of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and cooperation in Northeast Asia.

They expressed hope that all parties would make concerted efforts to actively push for resumption of the six-party talks and safeguard peace, stability and development in the region.

In order to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the US, Russia, South Korea and Japan have convened three rounds of six-party talks in Beijing.

Hu pointed to the rapid growth of bilateral relations since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 13 years ago and the consensus on building a strong partnership that was reached between Hu and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun during the latter's visit to China in 2003.

Hu spoke about frequent exchanges of visits between leaders and increasing trust in recent years, as well as expanding and fruitful cooperation in such fields as the economy, culture, education, science, technology and tourism.

He said the development of their partnership conforms to the fundamental interests and common aspiration of the two peoples, and enjoys strong vitality and good prospects.

Lee, who is on his first visit to China since he became prime minister, said his visit has been fruitful so far and that the two sides have reached consensus on expanding cooperation.

Wu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said the NPC, China's top legislature, will enhance exchanges with South Korea's National Assembly and that they can learn from each other.

Wu said the NPC attaches importance to relations with its South Korean counterpart and supports more exchanges at various levels between the two sides, and would strengthen coordination and cooperation with it in international and regional inter-parliamentary organizations.

Lee said China's development provides more opportunities for bilateral cooperation and South Korean enterprises.

China and South Korea witnessed rapid growth in trade over recent years. In 2004, the trade volume reached US$90 billion, a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent, and it is expected to exceed US$100 billion this year.

China is South Korea's largest trade partner while the South Korea is China's fourth largest.

Lee arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on a three-day official visit as guest of Premier Wen Jiabao.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2005)