Semiconductor engineers test high-end equipment in August in Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi Province.Photo: VCG

A new survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) showed that 20 percent of 1,051 exporting companies polled expect China's trade conditions to see the most improvement in the fourth quarter.

"South Korean exporters seem to have taken heart from greater investments and more stimulus measures in ASEAN and China amid an upturn in their manufacturing sectors," said the KITA.

By contrast, the survey found that the number of exporters in the country projecting deteriorating trade conditions in the US, the EU and Japan outpaced those who are optimistic.

If there is no new coronavirus outbreak, South Korea's exports to China are expected to post a 70-percent recovery in 2021, given fast economic and social activity recovery in China and the substitution effect, Zhang Huizhi, vice dean of the Northeast Asian Studies College at Jilin University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Take semiconductors, for example. As the US restricts semiconductor exports to China, the country will increase imports from South Korea to meet its rising domestic demand, needed by development of new infrastructure such as 5G and artificial intelligence," Zhang said.

She noted that through communication with South Korean companies and research fellows, she found that they are very willing to increase investment in China's new infrastructure.

Data from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed on Thursday that the country's exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products grew for four straight months to reach $17.63 billion last month. ICT exports to China amounted to $8.17 billion in September, followed by Vietnam, the US and the EU.

South Korea's exports took a hit from the global pandemic, sending the economy into a recession in the second quarter. Its GDP shrank 3.3 percent between April and June from the previous quarter, the biggest fall since the first quarter of 1998.

The country's exports dropped 28.8 percent year-on-year over the first 10 days of October amid a resurgence of new infections in some countries, according to data from the Korea Customs Service on Monday.

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming said at a forum in South Korea on Monday that the complementary Chinese and South Korean economies have great potential for cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

China's development of its western region, its free trade zones and the  establishment of new infrastructure projects create great opportunities for South Korean companies, and the two countries working together to explore international markets will also help  boost the development of third countries and the regional economy, according to Xing.