Cho said the ROK looks forward to the opportunity of hosting the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to promote high-level exchanges between the two countries and deepen exchanges and cooperation.

Seoul attaches great importance to and will spare no effort in developing relations with China, Cho added.

Boosting regional growth

Beijing places great emphasis on APEC cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters earlier this month. "We stand ready to work with other parties at this year's meeting to produce positive outcomes and contribute to the economic growth of the Asia-Pacific and the wider world," he added.

The significance of Asia-Pacific cooperation is reflected in statistics released recently by the General Administration of Customs. China's trade with APEC economies totaled 19.41 trillion yuan (about $2.7 trillion) in the first three quarters of this year, a 2 percent year-on-year increase.

Combined trade with fellow APEC economies accounts for nearly 58 percent of China's total foreign trade, Lyu Daliang, spokesman for the GAC and head of its department of statistics and analysis, said on Oct 13.

According to Lyu, China's imports and exports of high-tech products with other APEC economies in the first three quarters both exceeded 2 trillion yuan, up 7.9 percent and 12 percent, respectively.