South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday expressed his willingness to cooperate more with China and said that his country welcomes China's economic development.

During his talks with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Roh said that South Korea and China have the same goal of developing their bilateral relations, and he believes that Premier Wen's visit would push bilateral ties to a higher level.

Roh emphasized that South Korea welcomes, and not worries about, China's economic development. The improvement in the Chinese people's living standards and the expansion of the Chinese market offer South Korea many opportunities. He believes that the two countries could develop together and have their common interests furthered through high-level cooperation and fair competition.

South Korea is expecting the two governments to sign an investment protection treaty at an early date, and would study positively the possibility of establishing a free trade zone between the two nations, as well as clearing the barriers blocking Chinese goods from entering the South Korean market, the president said.

Roh said that the South Korean government attaches great importance to Sino-South Korean exchanges and other bilateral activities, hoping Wen's visit would further promote mutual exchanges in every field. South Korea would also continue to strengthen cooperation with China on international and regional affairs, he added.

Wen had held a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Han Duck-soo and is scheduled to meet parliament leaders during his visit to South Korea, the first visit by a Chinese premier in seven years.

After his stay in South Korea, the Chinese premier will travel to Japan Wednesday on what he described as an "ice-melting journey," after his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe's "ice-breaking journey" to China last October.

Source:Xinhua