According to media reports, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Doi-yeol officially started his visit to China, and after arriving in Beijing, he held a symposium with the heads of Korean companies in China. In his opening remarks, Cho said that the high degree of interdependence between China and South Korea is the driving force behind the simultaneous development of the two countries' economies, but in turn, there are corresponding potential risks. China's economic structure is changing to be technology-intensive, and the economic and trade relationship between the two countries is gradually changing from a complementary relationship to a competitive one, which is a serious challenge for South Korea.
Cho also said that he will take advantage of this visit to promote the continuous development of South Korea-China relations and strengthen dialogue and communication at all levels, including the South Korea-China-Japan summit. He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will stand in solidarity with companies and pledged to actively engage in "economic diplomacy" and do everything possible for the business activities that can be expected by local Korean companies.
Regarding the economic and trade issues between China and South Korea, some scholars pointed out that although the data shows that in 2023, South Korea will be China's third largest trading partner after the United States and Japan, China is still South Korea's largest economic and trade partner, and bilateral trade between China and South Korea accounts for 22.59% of South Korea's total import and export. But the reality is that the economic interdependence of China and South Korea is being eroded by unprecedented geopolitical risks. South Korea is facing increasingly severe competition in the Chinese market and external pressure from the United States to "de-Chinaize", and its economic and trade relations with China are falling into a dilemma.
South Korean international trade experts say that geopolitics can change the risk appetite for economic and trade cooperation, but it cannot fundamentally reverse the interdependent world economic pattern. For an advanced economy like South Korea, it is better to embrace China's development opportunities than to find alternatives to China, after all, China's huge domestic market is irreplaceable.
After the conclusion of the symposium with the heads of Chinese and South Korean enterprises, Zhao Duilie and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, and the two sides actively discussed areas of common concern. According to Yonhap News Agency, the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views and coordinated the meeting of the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan to be held in Seoul.
It should be pointed out that before leaving for China at Gimpo International Airport, Cho said that during his visit to China, he would take the first step in promoting the development of South Korea-China relations. Cho said that in the severe geopolitical environment, this visit will create an important opportunity for the development of ROK-China relations and for the two sides to actively discuss the Korean Peninsula issue and the regional and international situation. Cho said that on issues of principle, he will clearly state the ROK's position, but at the same time, he will focus on discussing areas with the Chinese side that have great potential for cooperation, so as to further consolidate the foundation for the development of bilateral relations.
It is reported that before Zhao Duiyeol's visit to China, South Korea launched a 52.7 billion semiconductor policy support project to strengthen the competitiveness of the country's semiconductor industry. The program will target semiconductor materials, equipment manufacturers and fabless companies, and may include policy-based loans to companies. While Yonhap News Agency did not specifically identify the countries targeted at the policy, saying only that it was aimed at "competing with major countries," the policy comes as the U.S. government is pressuring South Korea to restrict the flow of equipment and technology used to make high-end logic and memory chips to China. Judging from the combination of these two events, the intention of the South Korean government is enough to explain a lot.
As for China-ROK relations, China is willing to improve and promote its continued development, which is one of the reasons why Wang Yi invited Zhao Duilie to visit China. However, China-ROK relations are based on the principle of mutual respect, and it is hoped that the ROK side will show sincerity in improving relations and take concrete actions to promote the development of China-ROK relations in a positive direction, instead of continuously exerting pressure on China and being interfered by external factors to create obstacles to the development of bilateral relations.