On February 24, 2003, The Republic of Korea’s President Kim Dae-jung met with Chinese Vice-Prime Minister Qian Qichen at the president’s official residence.

Qian Qichen extended President Jiang Zemin’s regards to Kim Dae-jung. He said that President Kim Dae-jung is an old friend of the Chinese people, and China highly values President Kim's contribution to the development of China-ROK ties. China always thinks much of the China-ROK ties and is willing to promote bilateral cooperative partnership in the new century successfully with the efforts of both sides.

Qian said that President Kim is dedicated to reconcilication and cooperation between the North and South. He put forward and carry out the engagement policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which improved the ties between the North and South and eased the tension on the Peninsula. The Chinese government appreciates and supports Kim’s policy.

As for the nuclear issue of the DPRK, Qian reiterated China's stance that it supports a non-nuclearized Korean Peninsula, and the current nuclear issue of the DPRK can be addressed peacefully through dialogue. The Chinese government holds that peace and stability on the Peninsula must be maintained. To that end, the Chinese government has been persuading the concerned parties to make a possible political solution of the nuclear issue.

Kim Dae-jung asked Qian Qichen to convey his cordial regards to President Jiang Zemin and said that ROK-China relations develop well, and the two sides’ exchanges are deepened and expanded in every field and at various levels, which he is quite satisfied with. He believed his successor will continue the commitment to develop friendly bilateral ties.

Kim Dae-jung recalled the domestic and foreign policies during his tenure, and deeply thanked the Chinese leaders and the Chinese government for their help and support all these years. Kim explained the ROK position on the DPRK nuclear issue and agreed with the Chinese side’s proposal. He said that the ROK side firmly upholds that the Korean Peninsula should realize non-nuclearization, and the DPRK nuclear issue can only be solved peacefully through US-DPRK bilateral dialogue. The US-DPRK ties are the core to resolving the matter. Kim Dae-jung also expressed his hope to strengthen communication and coordination with China on the issue. On the same day, Qian also met with former German President Richard Vou Weizsacher. Qian arrived in Seoul on the morning of February 24 to attend ROK President-elect Roh Moo-hyun's inauguration ceremony on February 25.