March 6th, 2026

Recently, at the invitation of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in China, a delegation led by Zou Jianhua, Deputy Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Strategic Dialogue Organizing Committee and Chairman of Dalian Jianhua Group, together with Gao Jia, Deputy Secretary General of the World Buddhist Peace Council, visited the Korean Cultural Center in China and attended the Hunminjeongeum (Korean Hangul Script) Calligraphy Exhibition hosted by the center. During the event, the Chinese delegates held in-depth exchanges with H.E. Roh Jae-heon, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to China, and Kim Jin-kun, Minister-Counselor of the ROK Embassy in China and Director of the Korean Cultural Center. The two sides reached a high degree of consensus on the paths to open up a new phase of China-ROK cultural exchanges in the new era. The Chinese side also presented a calligraphy work by Ven. Master Dao Jian, a renowned Chinese calligrapher, to the ROK side.

Since the visit to China by ROK President Lee Jae-myung, China-ROK bilateral relations have seen a comprehensive warming, and strengthening exchanges and cooperation in the people-to-people and cultural fields has become a broad consensus across all sectors of the two countries. For a long time, the Asia Pacific Strategic Dialogue Organizing Committee and the World Buddhist Peace Council have been deeply engaged in China-ROK bilateral exchanges, achieving a series of important outcomes. In particular, their practices in China-ROK Buddhist exchanges have delivered remarkable results, which were highly commended at the National Conference on Religious Work and hailed for having ushered in a golden age of China-ROK Buddhist exchanges.

Riding the momentum of the development of China-ROK relations, Dalian Jianhua Group is actively making arrangements for the international development of its cultural industry, and advancing the construction of an international cultural, sports and tourism resort project in Dalian Jinpu New Area. With the core concept of "technology + culture", the project aims to build a demonstration benchmark for new consumption formats, models and scenarios in Dalian, and strives to become a new landmark for the international outreach of Chinese culture. The project conducts an in-depth exploration of the cultural core of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and creates an Eastern-style cultural "Disneyland" from an aesthetic perspective rooted in Eastern values. China and the ROK share aligned concepts and complementary strengths in the development of cultural industries and international communication. The ROK's development achievements in recent years have provided valuable reference for China, and the two sides have broad cooperation space in this field.

Since the establishment of its representative office in Seoul in 2022, the Asia Pacific Strategic Dialogue Organizing Committee has continuously promoted two-way exchanges between China and the ROK in the industrial, commercial and cultural fields. It has led Chinese industrial, commercial and cultural delegations to visit the ROK on many occasions, and accumulated fruitful cooperation outcomes. The Committee once held a symposium themed on the Belt and Road Initiative at the ROK National Assembly, focusing on issues related to China-ROK cooperation in the development of third-party markets. It held constructive exchanges with the then Speaker of the ROK National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun, which was highly recognized by the ROK side. The Committee has also maintained sound communication and interaction with successive heads of the ROK National Assembly. Recently, it led Dalian Jianhua Group on a visit to Seoul, where they called on institutions including the Korea-China Exchange Association and South Korea's MBC Television, and reached extensive consensus on deepening China-ROK people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation.

Against the current international landscape, conducting regular people-to-people and cultural exchanges and establishing new mechanisms for exchanges and cooperation with neighboring countries that share profound historical and cultural ties with China is an important cornerstone for consolidating bilateral relations. Promoting the building of a stable and cooperative bilateral relationship through the in-depth integration of Chinese and ROK cultures is not only an important mission and practical direction of people-to-people diplomacy, but will also inject lasting impetus into regional prosperity, development, peace and stability, and lay a solid public opinion foundation and cultural support for cooperation between the two countries in various fields.