1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a Republic of Korea (ROK)-People’s Republic of China director-general-level dialogue on cooperation on response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the form of video conference at 11:00-12:50, March 13, bringing together officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the disease control authorities, and other relevant government agencies of the two countries. The two sides assessed and shared their experiences in each sector in responding to COVID-19, and discussed ways for cooperation, including information exchanges on disease control and clinical treatment, the supply of and demand for quarantine supplies, and support for business people’s activities.

° The ROK and Chinese head delegates to the conference were Mr. Kang Sang-wook, Director-General for Northeast Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Wu Jianghao, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, respectively. And the participants included officials of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport from the ROK; and the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Education, the National Immigration Administration, the Civil Aviation Administration, and the General Administration of Customs from China.

2. The ROK side explained that the ROK has been implementing at the government-wide level an advanced disease control system based on an open, transparent and democratic approach, and that the international community, including the World Health Organization (WHO), has highly commended such efforts. It emphasized that the ROK intends to overcome the COVID-19 crisis successfully in close collaboration with the international community including China.

° The Chinese side mentioned that the Chinese government, on its part, has also been achieving positive effect from its best efforts, including strong disease control measures. It expressed the will to share its disease control and clinical experiences and step up cooperation with the international community, including the ROK.

3. The ROK side underscored the need to maintain close people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation between the ROK and China despite the difficulty in responding to COVID-19, and asked for closer attention to the protection of and support for Koreans, including business people, in China.

° The ROK side also suggested that the two countries closely discuss ways to cooperate on the supply of and demand for face masks in the ROK. The Chinese side mentioned that China will cooperate through continued communication.

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° The two sides agreed to continue working closely together in ensuring convenience for their students in each other’s countries.

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4. The two sides noted with appreciation that in the process of responding to COVID-19, the ROK and China have worked together in various ways, including the provision of relief supplies by the governments and private sectors as well as exchanging encouraging messages. They voiced hope that such cooperation would help promote friendly sentiment between the ROK and China and bolster the foundation of the bilateral relations.

5. The dialogue came as part of the follow-up on the agreement reached during the telephone conversation between the Presidents of the ROK and China on February 20 to reinforce cooperation in fighting against COVID-19. In order to make substantial achievements from cooperation on various issues of mutual interest related to response to COVID-19, the two sides agreed to maintain close communication between relevant government agencies.