China South Korea Photo:VCG

 
South Korea's trade promotion agency has been holding and plans to hold more meetings and exhibitions in a bid to boost South Korean exports to China, including auto parts and shipbuilding equipment, according to media reports on Sunday, underscoring the country's focus on the Chinese market despite rising pressure from the US' decoupling push. 

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) held a meeting recently to discuss ways to expand exports to China, and is expected to hold more industry meetings and exhibitions for enterprises of the two countries in the next two months.

It will hold a green industry business meeting in Beijing at the end of September, and an export fair and a marine equipment exhibition in China in October, Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday.

The agency on Friday held a meeting with South Korean business leaders of various industries at its office building in Seoul to evaluate its export plan to China, according to Yonhap.

At the Friday meeting, the KOTRA announced that it discussed measures to expand exports to China of environmental equipment, auto parts, shipbuilding equipment, materials, cosmetics, beverages, and health food.

Prior to this, KOTRA said it held a meeting on Thursday to strengthen industrial cooperation with East China's Shandong Province. And according to Chinese media, 15 cooperation projects with South Korea were signed on site during the meeting, involving high-end equipment, new energy and new materials, medical care and health and high-end chemical industry.

On Tuesday, the 2022 Korea-China Logistics Cooperation Forum was held in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province by KOTRA, which will "support stable export logistics of Korean companies," said KOTRA.

Logistics companies of the two countries discussed the Incheon-Qingdao port link through the China-Europe freight railway. It will take about 25 to 30 days for the cargo arriving at Incheon Port to be transshipped at Qingdao port and arrive in Hamburg, Germany, Kurdo reported, citing deputy general manager of the Xi'an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group.

The intensifying efforts by South Korea to boost trade with China come as Washington has been stepping up pressure on Seoul to join the US' relentless containment campaign against China. The series of meetings reflect South Korea's aim to enhance trade ties with its largest trading partner China, despite the US pressure, experts noted.  

By 2021, China-South Korea trade had reached $364.1 billion. Of this total, China exported $150.5 billion to South Korea and imported $213.5 billion, making China South Korea's largest trading partner, source of imports and export destination, customs data showed.