The first meeting between Chinese and South Korean leaders since President Lee Jae Myung took office was held at the Gyeongju National Museum in South Korea last Saturday.

As close neighbors, China and South Korea have shared 33 years of diplomatic ties since the establishment of relations in 1992. In 2024, bilateral trade reached USD 328.08 billion. China has remained South Korea’s largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while South Korea is China’s second-largest.

Looking ahead, Park Sun Kyung, chief representative of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Shanghai Office, believes that the key to unlocking the full potential of bilateral cooperation lies in identifying the areas where the two economies’ strengths intersect, with the digital economy standing out as the most promising field.

“South Korea excels in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and smart devices, while China leads in digital infrastructure, e-commerce, and platform innovation,” Park noted. “By aligning their capabilities, the two sides can create powerful synergies in areas like AI applications, cross-border data services, and digital trade platforms.”

She further suggested that both sides could work together to promote regional standards in digital governance and cybersecurity across the Asia-Pacific, ensuring that “innovation, trust, and inclusiveness progress in parallel.”

Park also encouraged enterprises from both countries to actively engage in multilateral platforms such as the APEC CEO Summit, amplifying the voice of the business community and driving concrete cooperation forward. (Lin Zhuowei, Shao Zilu)