1. The 24^th meeting of the Republic of Korea-People’s Republic of China Joint Economic Committee will be held in Qingdao, China, on August 1, with Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lee Seong-ho and Assistant Minister of Commerce of China Li Chenggang leading their respective delegations.

2. In the upcoming meeting, the two sides will assess global economic trends and the current state of economic cooperation between the two countries, and discuss the way forward to enhance bilateral trade and investment as well as ways to step up cooperation in the regional and multilateral arena.

o The two countries will discuss the progress in bilateral quarantine and economic cooperation to respond to COVID-19, including the ROK-China fast track procedure, and exchange views on the way forward for economic cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

o The two countries will also discuss bilateral issues, including resolving difficulties facing companies of the two countries, as well as ways to work together on the multilateral stage, including the World Trade Organization (WTO).

3. The forthcoming meeting, the first face-to-face high-level meeting between the ROK and China since COVID-19, is expected to serve as an opportunity to explore ways to increase economic cooperation in the mid- to long-term, and make substantive preparations to achieve results in the economic area during high-level visits to the ROK in the future.

o The two sides will review the progress in preparations for drafting the ROK-China Joint Plan for Economic Cooperation (2021-2025), and discuss ways to expand exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.