Seoul mayor suggests revival of urban diplomacy with Beijing, Tokyo

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met his Beijing counterpart Mayor Yin Yong in the Chinese capital on Tuesday to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral economic and cultural cooperation between the two megacities, his office said Wednesday.

In the mayoral meeting held for the first time in six years, Oh addressed the need to revive the trilateral partnership among Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, stressing the importance of urban diplomacy to discuss the challenges and opportunities of metropolitan cities at a sub-national level.

At the meeting, Oh highlighted the longstanding partnership between Seoul and Beijing, which has been active in the economic, cultural, tourism and human exchange sectors since the formalization of their friendship in 1992.

"As Seoul and Beijing have been close neighbors up to now, I hope that they become partners that cooperate toward the peace and prosperity of Northeast Asia and the world," Oh said.

Oh and Yin agreed on the necessity to tackle the challenges metropolitan cities face through collaborative efforts, focusing on enhancing exchanges in cultural and human sectors. They stressed the importance of fostering mutual understanding among younger generations through increased youth and educational exchanges.

Also, Oh invited Yin, as well as leading enterprises and startups from Beijing, to participate in Seoul's upcoming Smart Life Week — a comprehensive ICT technology exhibition promoting smarter living solutions, modeled after the CES. The inaugural event will take place in October.

Yin, who took office last year and is noted for his financial expertise from his tenure as the Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, expressed openness to visiting Seoul. Yin said it is meaningful that the two cities have actively sought exchanges in various fields and he would consider visiting Seoul at an appropriate time.

The two leaders also discussed expanding interactions between municipal officials to share best practices and innovative policies.

Furthermore, Oh called for the restoration of cooperation among the capital cities of Korea, China and Japan. The three cities had previously enjoyed active exchanges, but recent years have seen a decline in cooperative efforts due to regional tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Exchanges between local governments are very important," Oh said during the meeting. "The relationship between Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo used to be very good. I hope the three cities can restore their cooperation and achieve mutual development through it."

Oh was visiting Beijing as part of a nine-day trip that also took him to France.