President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol told China's top envoy to South Korea that he was certain that Seoul-Beijing relations will further develop in the future.

Yoon made the remark when Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming paid a courtesy call on Friday, noting China is South Korea's biggest trade partner, while South Korea is China's third largest.

In reference to the commemoration of 30 years of diplomatic ties dating back to 1992, Yoon said such a relationship is of great help to people in both countries and also advanced economic progress.

Xing delivered a congratulatory message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which the Chinese leader called South Korea a close neighbor and important cooperative partner.

Assessing that bilateral ties have benefited people from both nations and contributed toward world peace, safety, prosperity and development, Xi said his country was willing to promote a stable and long-term development of their strategic cooperative partnership.

During his campaign, Yoon had pledged to deepen the alliance with the United States, while realigning ties with China.