On June 13, Secretary-General LIM Byung-jin visited the Chinese Consulate General in Busan upon invitation by Consul-General CHEN Ribiao for a meeting and official dinner.

During the meeting with Mr. Chen, Mr. Lim introduced the results of his business trip to Liaoning and Anhui provinces, and requested the Chinese Consulate General's support in the following areas: inviting a high-level Chinese delegation to the NEAR General Assembly in October, promoting new Chinese membership, and promoting exchanges among Korean and Chinese local governments and private sectors.

Mr. Chen replied that strengthening cooperation between local governments and people-to-people human and cultural exchanges is a common goal shared by both NEAR and the Consulate General, and offered to actively support the activities of NEAR.

The NEAR Secretariat plans to continue exchange and cooperation with the Chinese Consulate General in Busan by organizing a UCC competition for Korean and Chinese youths.