On the morning of March 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a telephone conversation with his ROK counterpart Park Geun-hye.

Initiating the call, Park offered congratulations on Xi's election as Chinese president and lauded "the Chinese Dream" that Xi has promoted to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the well-being of the Chinese people. Park said her country, which is also devoted to national development and the improvement of the people's well-being, and China have shared governing concepts and extensive common interests. The ROK is willing to work together with China to promote high-level and people-to-people exchanges, and enrich cooperation connotations to push forward the development of bilateral ties on the existing basis for the benefit of both peoples, she said.

Expressing his appreciation of Park's congratulations, Xi said the ever growing Sino-ROK ties in the past 20 years have brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their peoples, and played an important role in maintaining regional peace and stability. The two countries have much in common in their development tasks. Xi emphasized the importance of enhanced mutual understanding, trust and cooperation to the two countries as well as regional peace and development under the current circumstances. The Chinese president said China attaches great importance to its relations with the ROK and has taken the country as an important partner of strategic cooperation. China is ready to join hands with the ROK to push their relations to a higher level.

Xi noted that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is relevant to the interests of the Koreans and the Chinese people. China, which has been long devoted to maintaining the peace and stability and realizing denuclearization on the Peninsula through dialogue and consultation, is willing to provide assistance necessary to the reconciliation and cooperation between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea, he added. All parties concerned in the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula should make efforts to ease the current tension and achieve turnabout of the situation. The two sides of the Peninsula are compatriots and their relations are crucial to the trend of the situation on the Peninsula.

Park said the ROK is ready to join the efforts for denuclearization on the Peninsula, and work with China to safeguard peace, stability and prosperity on the Peninsula and North East Asia.