BEIJING - Vice-Premier Li Keqiang met Republic of Korea (ROK) National Assembly Deputy Speaker Hong Jae-hyong on Wednesday in Beijing, and the two sides pledged to strengthen inter-party exchanges to take bilateral relations to a new level.

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang meets Hong Jae-hyong, deputy speaker of the Republic of Korea's National Assembly, in Beijing on Wednesday. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

The Communist Party of China (CPC) attaches great importance to exchanges with political parties in the ROK, Li told the visiting ROK National Assembly delegation headed by Hong.

The two sides can learn from each other's experiences in administering state affairs, and create more benefits for the people of the two countries, the vice-premier said.

Hong said the ROK is willing to further promote relations with China through inter-party exchanges.

The visiting delegation is composed of members from political parties in the ROK National Assembly, a 299-member unicameral legislature in which the Grand National Party has been the majority party and the Democratic Party the main opposition since elections in 2008.

Inter-party diplomacy is a unique advantage of the CPC, as it is a good platform, in addition to diplomacy conducted by governments, to have more flexibility to deepen communication with all political forces in other countries, according to Professor Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore.

The visit is part of the regular exchange mechanism launched in 2006 by China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the ROK National Assembly.

In 2010, the NPC and the ROK National Assembly agreed in Seoul to further deepen inter-parliamentary dialogues during their fifth meeting under the mechanism.

Li said he hopes that the two countries take 2012, when China and the ROK celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties, as an opportunity to expand and deepen political, economic and cultural cooperation.