President Oh Young-ho of KOTRA addresses the Korea-China Economic 

Cooperation Forum held on July 4 at Coex in Seoul. (Photo: KOTRA)

The Korea-China Economic Cooperation Forum held on July 4 at COEX in southern Seoul, provided a chance to look back closely at the growth of trade between the two neighbors over the past 22 years since the resumption of the two neighboring countries’ diplomatic relations in 1992.

Co-hosted by KOTRA and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, key government officials in charge of foreign trade and VIP business leaders from the two countries including Director Ryu Tenshuin of the Investment Promotion Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Mayor Meng Fanli of Yantai City and Mayor Miao Ruilin of Nanjing City, among Chinese government officials, Tian Guoli, chairman of the Bank of China, Chairman Robin Li of Baidu Corp. and Chairman Nan Chunhu of Juntai Group, among the civilian business leaders on the Chinese side. Attending the event from the Korean business sector included Chairman Park Yong-maan of the KCCI, President Oh Young-ho of KOTRA, Chairman Huh Chang-soo of the Federation of Korean Industries, and Chairman Han Duck-soo of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and a number of chairmen of large conglomerates including Chung Mong-koo of the Hyundai Motor Group, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics representing his ailing father Chairman Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Group, and Chairman Koo Bon-moo of LG Group, among others.

Chairman Tian Guoli of the Bank of China said in his speech at the event, a won-yuan exchange center should be set up in Korea to make Korea a yuan exchange hub to expand the economic exchange between Korea and China further and at the same time to further internationalize the yuan, with Korean cooperation being a core task in that endeavor for the financial stabilization of Northeast Asia, he said.

Chairman Robin Li of Baidu Corp., an internet search engine company, also spoke at the event on the theme of “The Creation of a New Age in Asia through Technology Reform,” in which he noted that the center of the global internet is moving to Korea and China, and he hopes that China, with the largest internet market in the world, and Korea, with advanced information technologies, can cooperate with each other in many areas to lead the world in the development of the internet in the future. He quoted an old Chinese proverb that says when two minds get together they can cut a piece of iron.

For the Korean side, Director Kim Seung-hwan of AmorePacific was one of the speakers. The cosmetics company has been operating in China for over two decades. He pointed out in his speech some of the strategies that his company employed to be what it is today in China – a very successful foreign business firm – including the development of cosmetics products that are good for the skin of Chinese women and employing many local people for its operation, as well as various social service activities to boost its image among Chinese customers. He noted that the company also received a big boost from Hallyu, or Korean entertainment content which is enjoying a great following in China including films, music, and dance, with ‘K-Beauty’ on its way to becoming popular among the Chinese customers, too. The company will continue to maintain its growth pace by setting up a research center dedicated to the development of cosmetics products appealing to local customers, especially Chinese women.

KOTRA officials said a number of MOUs were signed during the event including one between LG Chem and Nanjing City on energy cooperation, another between POSCO and Chongqing Steel Group, the conclusion of an MOU between SK Group and Chungwei Group, and one between SKC and TCL on strategic cooperation.

The KOTRA officials said the event was a vehicle for both Korean and Chinese business leaders to sound out their mutual cooperative areas in business including trade, investment and finance, and other diverse areas and to confirm each other’s intentions on how far they will go in pushing the joint ventures.