China-ROK relations their 'best in history'(2)

They also met each other ahead of the 21st informal economic leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation last October on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands in March.

"Such frequent exchanges are important and they are conducted on the basis of close cooperation between the two countries in economy, trade, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, their consensus on major issues in the region, as well as their shared understanding of the post-World War II order," Qu said.

DEEPENING ECONOMIC TIES

Over the past 22 years bilateral economic and trade relations have developed leaps and bounds.

Two-way trade between China and the ROK surpassed 270 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, a 7 percent year-on-year increase, equating to South Korea's trade volume with the United States and Japan combined.

A China-ROK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation was launched in May 2012 and more than ten rounds of talks have been conducted. The two countries aim to reach a comprehensive, balanced and high-level FTA.

Xi's visit will consolidate the China-ROK relationship and inject new vigor for future cooperation, said Zha Daojiong, a professor at the School of International Studies under Peking University.

Zha said the two countries should speed up negotiations on the free trade pact and reach an agreement at an early date.

Both countries should encourage more enterprises to participate in the FTA, to further unleash the huge potential in economy and trade between the two countries, Zha said.

During Park's visit to Beijing last year, the two sides signed bilateral cooperation documents concerning economy, trade, finance, science and technology and energy conservation.

The two sides are expected to release a joint statement and sign cooperative documents covering economy, trade, finance, environment and consular affairs during Xi's visit.

Once the paradigm of Asia's economic take-off, the ROK boasts many innovation-spirited companies, such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai.

"Chinese enterprises can learn from the innovation spirit of these ROK enterprises," Zha said.