From April 21 to 26, at the invitation of the Korea Foundation (KF), Yuan Mindao, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), led a delegation of 53 Chinese youth friendship ambassadors to visit Seoul and Jeju in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Chung Byung-won, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROK; Oh Young-hoon, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province; and Kim Tae-kyun, First Administrative Deputy Mayor of Seoul, held welcome ceremonies for the delegation respectively. Rhee Jong-kook, Executive Vice President of the KF, and Kim Eel-hwan, President of Jeju National University, met with and hosted dinners for the delegation respectively.

During the visit, the delegation participated in multiple friendly exchange activities hosted by organizations such as the KF and Jeju National University, including youth exchanges and traditional cultural experiences. They also explored public infrastructure in the country, learned about governance experiences and development status at national and subnational levels, which helped enhance mutual understanding and trust.

In his speech, Yuan Mindao gave positive evaluations of the cooperation achievements between China and the ROK across all fields, appreciated the crucial role played by friendly figures from all sectors in the ROK in deepening people-to-people friendship between the two countries, and introduced the guiding principles of China's Central Conference on Work Related to Neighboring Countries. Yuan noted that China and the ROK are close neighbors and inseparable partners. The fruitful outcomes achieved in bilateral relations over the past 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK prove that China-ROK friendly cooperation serves the interests of both countries and peoples. Youth people represent the future and hope of the cause. He looked forward to more exchanges between youth from the two countries, in-depth discussions on issues of common concern, deepened mutual trust and friendship, and joint efforts to be practitioners of China-ROK friendship, propelling forward the steady and sustained development of the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership.

Rhee Jong-kook thanked the Chinese side for inviting the ROK youth delegation on a successful visit to China last year, and warmly welcomed the visit of the Chinese youth friendship ambassadors delegation to the ROK. It is believed that these mutual visits between the youth of the two countries signify the full resumption of China-ROK youth exchanges and expressed the hope that such interactions would foster lasting friendships among the youth of both countries. Chung Byung-won expressed that enhancing cultural exchanges and maintaining friendly sentiments are of utmost importance in developing China-ROK relations. Only through friendly exchanges among the younger generation can a solid foundation for state-to-state relations be laid. All sectors of society in the ROK extended their congratulations to China on its remarkable achievements in economic and social development, and expressed appreciation for the efforts of the CPAFFC in promoting people-to-people friendship between China and the ROK, particularly in facilitating subnational and youth exchanges. Furthermore, they conveyed the willingness to work hand in hand to make new contributions to the friendship between the two countries.

The China-ROK Youth Friendship Ambassadors Exchange Program has been jointly implemented by the CPAFFC and the KF since 2009, with over 3,000 outstanding young people from both countries having participated in mutual visits through this initiative to date. This marks the first visit to the ROK by a Chinese youth friendship ambassadors delegation organized by the CPAFFC since the outbreak of Covid-19. The delegation consists of young civil servants from central government agencies and five provinces and municipalities, namely, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Yunnan, and Qinghai.