BEIJING - China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) hailed the cooperation between their parliaments, vowing to push forward the inter-parliamentary relations to a higher level.

The cooperation between the National People's Congress (NPC) and the ROK National Assembly has become a significant platform for the two nations to further their strategic mutual trust, expand friendly exchanges and promote pragmatic cooperation, said Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, on Thursday.

Wu made the remarks in his meeting with Chung Ui-hwa, visiting deputy speaker of the ROK National Assembly.

Invited by the NPC Standing Committee, Chung arrived in Beijing on Sunday to attend the sixth meeting of the two parliamentary bodies' regular exchange mechanism.

Wu extended his congratulations to the successful convening of the meeting, expressing his hope that the two sides could further improve the function of the mechanism in a bid to enrich and inject new vitality into the China-ROK strategic and cooperative partnership.

When on the broader bilateral issues, China's top legislator said China continually values its ties with the ROK and places its relations with the ROK as one of the country's top priorities.

China and the ROK have reaped rapid growth in cooperation in the various political, economic, trade and humanitarian fields, Wu said, noting that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations are not only conducive to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but also help promote the peace and prosperity of the world.

Chung said the ROK is satisfied with the current growth momentum of the bilateral relations and is committed to fostering its ties with China to new heights.

The ROK National Assembly will work closer with the NPC and take full advantage of the regular exchange mechanism in an aim to play a positive role to further foster the ties between the ROK and China, Chung said.

The NPC and ROK National Assembly launched the regular exchange mechanism in January 2006.