On June 14, the 9th China (Guangdong) - South Korea Development and Exchange Conference was held in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. Co-hosted by the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, the conference brought together over 200 representatives from both sides, opening up dialogues on how to promote pragmatic cooperation in hydrogen energy and smart manufacturing, two key emerging industries.
This year, the conference was centered around the topic of "Strengthening Cooperation in New Energy and Smart Manufacturing", after a five-year suspension due to the pandemic. Zhao Xiangxian, Director of the Institute for International Trade of Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Xing Haiming, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, and Yang Bingnai, Assistant Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy of South Korea, attended the event and delivered keynote speeches.
According to Zhao Xiangxian, Director of the Institute for International Trade of Korea International Trade Association (KITA), China and South Korea, with strong industrial complementarities, have joined hands for mutual growth for the last 30 years since the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1992. Last year, the trade volume between South Korea and Guangdong Province reached around 50.5 billion US dollars, accounting for about 16% of the total trade between South Korea and China. He believes that as the two nations are fostering new economic drivers, the conference will pave new ways for business partnerships in emerging industries, smart manufacturing, and renewable energy, particularly, and take the bilateral relations to the next level.
Xing Haiming, the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, pointed out that Guangdong Province is currently gaining momentum in low-carbon industries. The province has a strong industrial foundation in hydrogen energy, nuclear energy, and new energy storage. He extended the hope that South Korea can explore more business opportunities in Guangdong Province.
According to Yang Bingnai, Assistant Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, Guangdong Province has been in a close partnership with South Korea since the start of China's reform and opening up. South Korea will continue to strengthen cooperation with China in clean energy and smart manufacturing and explore more business opportunities for enterprises from both sides.
The conference was highlighted by the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) on the spot - one between the Foshan Institute of Environmental and Energy Technology and H2KOREA, and the other between the Advanced Institute of Convergence Technology (AICT) and iMakerbase, an innovation and entrepreneurship space in Shenzhen.
The China (Guangdong) - South Korea Development and Exchange Conference, as the first economic cooperation platform jointly established by the local governments of South Korea and Guangdong Province, was first held in 2010. Since then, it has provided an effective mechanism for bilateral exchanges and cooperation in business, trade, and technologies. Enterprises from South Korea exchange insights and ideas on entering the Chinese market.
Reporter | Jersey
Editor | Steven, James, Monica
Photo | Guangdong Provincial People's Government Foreign Affairs Office
