* This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK, with bilateral economic and trade cooperation reaping fruitful results.

* In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has added further momentum to China-ROK cooperation, with logistics and supporting policies helping facilitate trade between the two countries.

* Kang Byung Soo, director-general of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Qingdao office, said as China is upgrading its industrial structure, ROK companies should invest in industries of common interest to both countries, and seek new opportunities for win-win cooperation in areas such as the digital economy, green industry and the elderly care service.

JINAN, May 31 (Xinhua) -- For several years, Oh Jungsik has been acting like a part-time investment promotion manager for a China-Republic of Korea (ROK) industrial park in the eastern Chinese city of Yantai. Like other ROK investors there, Oh sees bright prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK, with bilateral economic and trade cooperation reaping fruitful results.

People visit the South Korea booth in the exhibition hall of Special Area for Countries, Provinces, Regions and Cities during the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

INVESTMENT, TRADE

Oh has recently relocated his business to a new section of the industrial park. "The view from our new workplace is wonderful. I can enjoy the sea view with friends from my country," said Oh.

The ROK businessman used to have doubts about the business environment of the coastal city in Shandong Province. According to the veteran of China-ROK trade, when he planned to move his company from south China's Guangdong Province to Yantai, he was concerned that his mediocre level of Chinese would hinder communication.

"To my surprise, the staff here spoke fluent Korean," Oh said. He had no difficulty in communication when registering his company and seeking office, which strengthened his determination to settle down in the city.

In 2017, the China-ROK industrial park was approved in Yantai, attracting an increasing number of ROK enterprises to invest in the city. As a witness to the local business environment, Oh has introduced the industrial park to his friends.

The local government has built phase II of the China-ROK economic and cultural exchange center, an expansion of the industrial park, which became the new home for Oh's business.

"To bolster China-ROK cooperation, the new facility aims to attract more ROK companies and associations, and expand the space for cluster development of ROK enterprises here," said Zhang Qi with the management and service center of the industrial park.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, China and the ROK have enjoyed robust trade and economic cooperation. Bilateral trade has surged to more than 360 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 from over 5 billion U.S. dollars in 1992. The two countries have become major trading partners of each other.

Workers produce seam sealing equipment for protective clothes at the workshop of South Korea-invested Nawon Machinery Co., Ltd. in Jimo District of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, April 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

Meanwhile, the cumulative two-way investment between the two countries has exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

E-COMMERCE

In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has added further momentum to China-ROK cooperation, with logistics and supporting policies helping facilitate trade between the two countries.

There are now nine passenger and cargo shipping routes connecting Shandong's Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai and Rizhao cities with the ROK, with the shortest route between the province and ROK at less than 200 nautical miles. Over 50 ships travel on the "maritime highway" every week.

The routes, together with other high-efficiency customs management, have brought convenience to customers and companies.

Commodities from South Korea are transported to a warehouse under full-time tracking at a cross-border e-commerce supervision center in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, June 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

"Each day, the ship loaded with our goods leaves for ROK at the night. The goods can finish customs clearance in the ROK around 12 p.m. the next day, and some customers living in cities like Seoul and Incheon can receive goods in the afternoon," said Xu Guanghui, general manager of Hanyi Trading (SHANGHAI) Co., Ltd.

Some e-commerce companies set up overseas warehouses, allowing them to prepare goods in advance according to seasonal and holiday demand and further cut the delivery time.

According to Xu, his company established a warehouse with a floor area of more than 1,000 square meters in the ROK. At present, the overseas warehouse model helps the company export more than 7 million yuan (about 1.05 million U.S. dollars) worth of electronic goods per month.

STABLE, RECIPROCAL COOPERATION

ROK chip giant SK hynix has made further expansion in China despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It started constructing a non-volatile memory manufacturing project in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian this month.

"With SK hynix's Dalian project, the ROK is still expanding investment in China, providing ample proof for the close, stable and mutually beneficial supply chain cooperation between the two countries," said Liu Tiancong, deputy director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies with China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Liu added that the two sides should boost cooperation in emerging sectors such as 5G, digital economy, artificial intelligence, big data and new energy to achieve shared development.

Kang Byung Soo, director-general of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Qingdao office, said as China is upgrading its industrial structure, ROK companies should invest in industries of common interest to both countries, and seek new opportunities for win-win cooperation in areas such as the digital economy, green industry and the elderly care service.

Sang Chul Nam, president of LG Electronics Air-conditioning (Shandong) Co., Ltd., said his company is working hard to expand its market share in China as the large Chinese market is very attractive for ROK companies.

Sang Chul Nam (R), president of LG Electronics Air-conditioning (Shandong) Co., Ltd., listens to an employee's report in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

"Our sales in the first four months of 2022 went up 30 percent year on year. This is a very good result considering the epidemic factor," said Sang.

As China is dedicated to fostering a greener and more sustainable economy, LG will launch green and low-carbon products to facilitate China's "dual carbon" goals, he added.

30 years on, China-ROK trade bears fruits