1. The 23rd Republic of Korea-People’s Republic of China meeting for a comprehensive review of economic cooperation took place at the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, on Wednesday, November 27, with Mr. Yang Dong-han, Director-General for Bilateral Economic Affairs of the ROK Foreign Ministry, and Mr. Peng Gang, Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce leading their respective delegations.
○ The ROK-China meeting for a comprehensive review of economic cooperation is a director-general-level consultative mechanism between the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce that has taken place since 1993 shortly after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The meeting has functioned as a major strategic communication channel in the economic sector between the two countries, and has contributed to the continued deepening and development of the ROK-China economic relations through monitoring the overall progress in bilateral economic cooperation and discovering new cooperation projects.
○ The 23rd meeting, following the ROK-China vice minister-level joint economic committee held in June 2019, served as an opportunity to further expand substantive cooperation between the two countries in the areas of economy and trade.
2. At the meeting, the two sides took stock of the follow-up measures to the ROK-China summit-level meetings and the 23rd vice minister-level joint economic committee (June 19, 2019, Seoul), and ways to advance mid to long-term bilateral partnerships.
○ The two sides agreed to make joint efforts to draft the ROK-China Joint Plan for Economic Cooperation (2021-2025) containing a blueprint for future-oriented economic cooperation amid rapidly changing economic landscape at home and abroad. With regard to cooperation in connecting the ROK’s New Southern and Northern Policies and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, they agreed to adopt a 1.5-track joint report containing concrete ways for cooperation discussed at the ROK-China joint economic committee and the joint public-private consultations, and further make joint efforts toward the implementation.
3. The ROK side asked the Chinese side to work together with an aim to enhance bilateral people-to-people exchanges and revitalize exchanges and cooperation in the area of cultural contents. In addition, the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation by communicating more closely with each other in such areas as the protection of intellectual property rights, medical and healthcare, hygiene and environment.
○ The ROK side also strongly conveyed the difficulties facing the ROK companies including trade restrictive measures on Korean products imposed by the Chinese government and the need to improve employment system for Korean students in China, and asked for China’s cooperation in order for the issues to be resolved as smoothly and quickly as possible.
4. The Chinese government asked for the ROK government’s interest in and support for fairs such as the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE) and China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) both set to take place in China in 2020, the reinforcement of economic cooperation between provincial governments of the two countries and the difficulties facing the Chinese companies in the ROK.
5. Both sides exchanged views extensively on the recent global trade environment and the economic situations of the two countries. The Chinese side expressed concerns over the recently growing protectionism around the globe, while the ROK side underscored the need to maintain and develop a free, fair and rules-based multilateral trade system.
6. With the two
countries maintaining active communication, the 23rd meeting served
as a useful opportunity to review what they have discussed to boost economic
cooperation in various fields and exchange their honest views to promote
cooperation and business activities that the ROK people can feel.