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Trust comes first

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-27 07:23

Big events always inspire great expectations as the Olympic Games does. They are the catalysts for big decisions.

Chinese and South Korean leaders set their eyes on the upcoming big occasions in their countries to promote exchanges between their peoples. During the visit of President Hu Jintao to the Republic of Korea (ROK), the two countries have decided to designate the year 2010 - when Shanghai will host the World Expo - and 2012 - when the Expo will move to Yeosu - for visits to China and ROK, respectively. For the convenience of tourists from the two countries, the two governments have resolved to simplify their visa procedures.

Among the consensuses President Hu and his ROK counterpart Lee Myung-bak have reached, this approach to increase people-to-people exchanges has great potential for the healthy development of bilateral relations.

Today, diplomacy is not restricted exclusively to high-level officials but is also worked out through citizen exchanges.

The governments' decision to promote strategic cooperative partnership between two countries would hardly materialize if the understanding between the two people is not strong enough.

Being neighbors should not necessarily keep the two countries steering clear of misunderstanding and distrust.

However, these issues have not ended up in the hurdles for the bilateral ties. There are more than 830 flights every week, connecting 40 cities of the two countries. Some 6 million people traveled to each other's country last year. It was a record high for the people-to-people contact between the countries. The 64,000 South Korean students living in China are the largest population of foreign students in our country. And more than 34,000 Chinese students study in South Korea, accounting for two-thirds of the country's foreign students. The young people are believed to be messengers of the two countries. The future of the bilateral relations will be in their care.

Now the leaders of the two countries are trying to keep the momentum and give their people more opportunities to see their neighbors, while they have been meeting frequently. President Hu has visited South Korea twice since he took office in 2003. He met with the ROK president three times in the past three months.

The unprecedented meetings between the two leaders show the great significance they have attached to the bilateral relations.

While the leaders chart the course of the bilateral relations, the exchanges between the peoples help build trust between the two countries. Without trust the future plans, however well made, would end up in a dream.

(China Daily 08/27/2008 page8)