BEIJING - Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Beijing on Wednesday.

Zhao said bilateral relations are at their best in history with fruitful cooperation in various fields, thanks to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state.

China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to build a community of shared future featuring good neighborliness and mutual prosperity. The NPC is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges with the Kyrgyz parliament, provide a legal guarantee for practical cooperation, and push forward bilateral relations, Zhao added.

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Japarov said Kyrgyzstan speaks highly of the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the three major global initiatives proposed by China -- namely the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Kyrgyzstan is willing to maintain mutual support with China on issues concerning each other's core interests, focus on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen cooperation in various fields, and have close exchanges between legislative bodies, Japarov stated. 

Zhao meets ROK National Assembly speaker

Zhao also held talks with Woo Won-shik, National Assembly Speaker of the Republic of Korea (ROK), in Beijing on Wednesday.

The Chinese legislator said China and the ROK are close in geography and culture, and enjoy convenient conditions for exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China-ROK relations have developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results, which has brought benefits to both sides and their peoples and also promoted regional stability and development, he said.

China is willing to work with the ROK to strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication, make good use of the dialogue and communication mechanisms between government and political parties of the two countries, and enhance mutual understanding and trust, Zhao added.

"Taking the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as an opportunity, the two countries will speed up the second phase of negotiations on the FTA and strive to reach an agreement at an early date," Zhao said.

Zhao noted that the legislative bodies of China and the ROK have maintained close exchanges and cooperation for a long time, playing an important role in promoting the development of bilateral relations.

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He said the NPC of China is willing to work with the ROK National Assembly to uphold the tradition of friendship and make good use of regular exchange mechanisms and other platforms to enhance communication and exchanges between high-level legislative bodies, special committees, friendship groups, NPC deputies and parliamentarians, so as to create a sound policy and legal environment for bilateral cooperation in various fields.

"We will encourage more young people to participate in bilateral exchanges and build strength for China-ROK friendship from generation to generation," Zhao added.

Woo said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have made remarkable cooperative achievements in political, economic, cultural and other fields. The ROK and China will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting this year and next year respectively. He expressed hope that the two sides will support each other and further deepen bilateral cooperation.

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Adhering to the one-China principle, the ROK hopes to expand bilateral cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, enterprise investment, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains, expand cultural exchanges and continuously enhance the friendly feelings between the two peoples, Woo added.