A wave of collaborative sentiment with China is energizing South Korean businesses and the public as high-level engagement between the two countries rapidly increased for the second time within two months at the beginning of 2026.
Kim Mun-hwan, President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry Huizhou, embodies this positive spirit.
At the APEC meeting held in South Korea's Gyeongju in 2025, China and South Korea reaffirmed their strategic cooperative partnership. With a new round of APEC meetings scheduled to take place in Guangdong's tech city Shenzhen in 2026, Kim predicted that deepened interactions between the two states would spawn numerous China-South Korea cooperation initiatives in key areas such as new energy, AI, semiconductors, and the silver economy across cities in China.
As a chamber leader, Kim is also promoting an entrepreneurship program to attract South Korean professionals with abundant capital and advanced technologies to start businesses in Guangdong.
New Collaboration to Emerge, APEC as a Catalyst
The APEC meetings held in South Korea's Gyeongju in 2025 further enhanced China-South Korea relations with remarkable results.
Two months later, in January 2026, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visited China, which Kim believes marks a rare instance of reciprocal high-level visits between the two nations within a short span.
According to Kim, the positive signals sent by these high-level interactions have resonated throughout South Korean communities, with many enterprises and citizens turning their attention to the Chinese market and expressing a willingness to deepen cooperation.
A significant number of South Korean businesses and expatriates are expected to return to China to jointly explore new opportunities for development, Kim predicted.
"And the collaboration initiatives made during President Lee's visit to China are by no means a one-time event but a brand-new starting point."
Kim expects that the APEC meeting to be held in Shenzhen this November will serve as a "cohesive force."
"China-South Korea relations will deepen at Shenzhen's APEC meeting. Prior to the event, cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, such as Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Dongguan, are expected to host a series of China-South Korea business forums, focusing on key areas like semiconductors, new energy, and AI manufacturing.
In AI manufacturing, Kim believes China and Korea are poised to accumulate the world's most advanced practical data.
"The projects identified through these forums will naturally take root in Guangdong, integrating deeply with the local industrial ecosystem and forming a virtuous cycle of development."
Collaboration in Guangdong to Galvanize China's 15th Five-Year Plan Ambition
As China has achieved leapfrog development in recent years in sectors once dominated by South Korea, the China-South Korea partnership is transitioning from a one-way transfer to a two-way collaboration.
Guangdong, as a historical hub for South Korean investment since the 1992 normalization, epitomizes the transformation in bilateral economic dynamics.
According to official statistics, in 2024, trade between Guangdong and South Korea accounted for 18% of the total bilateral trade volume, making Guangdong the Chinese province with the highest trade volume with South Korea. Additionally, Guangdong is home to the only three China-South Korea Industrial Parks in China.
Kim noted that previously, early giants like Samsung and LG set up factories in Guangdong's Shenzhen and Huizhou, establishing a vertical division of labor where South Korea controlled core technology and high-value segments, while China handled assembly with thin profit margins.
Now, however, "The era of viewing parts of China merely as 'contract manufacturing bases' is long over."
The partnership, he stresses, is transforming from a "manufacturing base" model to a strategic partnership for joint R&D and global market exploration, where Guangdong's robust production base and tech ecosystem can leverage its strengths.
"Moderate competition exists, but if we join hands to expand the market pie and globalize our combined strengths, the space for mutual benefit is limitless."
For Kim, the 15th Five-Year Plan period brings numerous synergies, particularly in elderly care, a pressing need in China's aging society where South Korea possesses rich experience.
"I am confident that the 15th Five-Year Plan period will witness a surge of new cooperation models between China and South Korea, and these collaborations will contribute immense strength to the successful implementation of China's 15th Five-Year Plan," Kim concluded, his outlook for bilateral cooperation brimming with anticipation.
Reporter/Script | Huang Xinyi
Video | Liang Zijian
Poster | Lai Meiya
Editor | Ouyang Yan, Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
Yang Ling (intern) also contributed to the story.
Special thanks to the Publicity Department of Huizhou City and the Publicity and United Front Work Office of the Party Working Committee and Management Committee of Zhongkai High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Huizhou City
