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Year of China-DPRK Friendship Aims at Enhancing Bilateral Ties
2009-03-05 15:05
 PYONGYANG, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government hopes the activities marking the Year of China-DPRK Friendship in 2009 will consolidate bilateral ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and broaden and deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese ambassador to the DPRK said Friday.

"It would bring a brighter future for the two countries," Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador, said in an interview with Xinhua in Pyongyang.

The year 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of China-DPRK diplomatic relations, Liu said. Sixty years was a full rotation of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, a calendar system used in ancient China.

The 60th year served a link between the past and future, Liu explained. It was of great importance for the two countries to choose the year to celebrate their friendship, he added.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il exchanged greeting letters on the first day of 2009, launching the "Year of China-DPRK Friendship." More than 60 large-scale friendly activities in the fields of politics, economy, culture, sports, technology and education will be held during the year.

The friendly events will run throughout 2009, with activities being held every month on both sides, Liu said. The 60th anniversary of China-DPRK diplomatic ties will be celebrated on Oct. 6, he added.

Further more, local governments of the two countries will also hold friendship activities. A number of cities and units will establish friendly relations in 2009, Liu said.

Cultural exchanges will be more colorful, Liu said. The opera, The Dream at Red Mansion, adapted and performed by DPRK artists, will be performed. The DPRK version of the ancient Chinese classic will have both Chinese and Korean natures and will be wonderful, Liu said.

China-DPRK relations have been in good shape in recent years, the ambassador said. Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries increased in terms of both depth and breadth. The amount of bilateral trade frequently reached records. The year of 2008 was the fifth year in a row in which bilateral trade gained high-speed growth.

Trade volume broke 2 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of 2008. It showed that mutual-benefit cooperation and co-development in economic fields have great potential, Liu said.

Bilateral trade and investment will gain fresh momentum by signing and putting into effect a number of cooperation agreements in 2009, he added.

Technology cooperation will focus on the fields of agriculture and quality inspection.

Liu noted that the DPRK will become a popular destination for Chinese tourists. "They will enjoy the beautiful sceneries and feel the profound friendship between the two peoples by themselves," he said.

Liu likened the Year of China-DPRK Friendship to a piece of a long- rolled Chinese traditional painting. It will demonstrate to the world the vitality, the profoundness and up-to-date image of the traditional China-DPRK friendship, he said. The Year of China-DPRK Friendship will also become a stage on which the two countries hold a variety of effect-making exchanges and cooperation.

China-DPRK relations also will be injected with new vigor and expectations through the activities of the friendship year, and the bilateral friendly cooperation will be pushed into a stage of all-out development, he added.

Boosting bilateral ties conforms to common interests of the two countries, Liu said. The two countries took a common or similar approach in many international affairs. The Chinese Communist Party and government will work with the DPRK Workers' Party and government to deepen the China-DPRK friendship in a bid to realize the sustainable peace and common prosperity in the region, he concluded.

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