President Lee Jae Myung, who is on a state visit to China, has asked the National People’s Congress to support efforts to further develop relations between South Korea and China based on firm mutual trust.

Meeting with the body’s Standing Committee Chair Zhao Leji on Tuesday, Lee said he reached agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their summit Monday to nurture the maturation of the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership based on trust between the two countries and trust from the private sector.

The South Korean leader expressed confidence that China’s top legislature will make an important contribution toward enhancing mutual understanding and consensus by representing society as a whole and various voices.

Zhao said friendship and cooperation are the foundation of bilateral relations and that healthy, stable and ever-deepening ties would serve the interests of people on both sides and favor regional and global peace, stability, development and prosperity.

He said two-way relations are back on track and have entered a new phase under the strategic leadership of Lee and Xi, adding that the two sides have set a direction for the next stage in the development of their ties and put forth a new blueprint.

Zhao then pledged to ensure the implementation of the two leaders’ common vision and deepen cooperation in each sector through enhanced communication and harmony with South Korea in leading efforts to further advance the strategic cooperative partnership.