Major Firms of Korea, China to Discuss Cooperation
Amid the improving relationship between South Korea and China, the fifth Korea-China Economic Cooperation Forum will be held at Kintex in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, on August 29, where more than 350 leading companies from the two countries will participate.
The Korea-China Economic Cooperation Forum was created to contribute to friendly relationship and common prosperity of businesspeople from both countries. It is co-hosted by the Korea-China Private Economic Association and the China-Asia Economic Development Association (CAEDA).
Led by Executive President Quan Shunji, CAEDA is an organization registered with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its main mission is to enhance cooperation with Asian countries. In Korea, it has been operating CAEDA-Korea for the past 10 years to solve problems facing Korean companies operating in China and Chinese companies doing business in Korea. The Korean unit is led by Lee Tae-beum.
The 2018 forum is jointly organized by Goyang City, the Association of Medium Enterprises, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and is supported by KOTRA, Sejong Telecom, Industrial Bank of Korea, and the Korea Tourism Organization.
The event will be attended by a large number of Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Huawei, Huayun Group, China Minmetals Corp., Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Eastern Airlines, Huayi Brothers Media Corp., and SIASUN, as well as China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which ranked 23rd in global top 500 companies in 2018.
In Korea, various enterprises and organizations participate, including Hyundai Motor, POSCO, SK Group, LG Display, LG Hausys, Doosan Group, SPC Group, LS Group, CJ Group, Nongshim, Dongkuk Steel, SK Telecom, Industrial Bank of Korea, Asiana Airlines, Sejong Telecom, Posco Daewoo, Daewoo Logistics, and Ajou University Medical Center.
Chinese government agencies and officials will also come to the forum to seek cooperation between the two countries and between local governments, including the Chinese Embassy in Korea, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Korea, People's Government of Handan City, People's Government of Harbin, Weihai People's Government, Wuxi People's Government, Western Research Development Promotion Association, and Commerce Department.
From the Korean government, Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Dong-yeon will deliver a congratulatory speech, and hold a meeting with businessmen from both countries. Kwon Pyung-oh, the president of KOTRA, will actively promote the domestic investment environment to attract Chinese companies' investment.
The forum will be held under the theme of "Expansion of exchanges in the new era of cooperation between Korea and China." Participants will search for “the strategies, future tasks and cooperation avenues for the promotion of smart cities,” and “new opportunities for Northeast Asian economic cooperation.”
During the forum, diverse events will be held, including signing ceremonies for cooperation between companies and local governments from the two countries, an award ceremony for the Korea-China Economic Cooperation Award, investment consultation, inspection of industrial sites and networking reception. Awards will also be offered to companies that have greatly contributed to the exchanges and development of the two countries.
"Korea is suffering from a decline in economic growth potential, weakening of the competitiveness of its core industries, difficulty in finding new growth engines, while China is going through an economic paradigm shift with the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a medium-growth era,” said Chung Kwang-young, a former head of KOTRA’s China office who is leading the organizing committee for this year’s forum. “We are expecting that this forum will be a good opportunity to find ways to expand cooperation between the two countries as new opportunities for cooperation are emerging in Northeast Asia."
Meanwhile, CAEDA’s Executive President Quan Shunji is an ethnic Korean who has helped many Korean companies advance into China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992.
CAEDA-Korea representative Lee has also contributed to enhancing cooperation between Korean and Chinese companies based on his work experience at a major Korean company.