S. Korea's trade dependency on China soaring: report

Posted on : 2006-12-18 20:50 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

South Korean trade's dependency on China is rising fast, while its reliance on the U.S., Japan, and other Asian countries is falling sharply, a private think tank said Monday.

In the first 10 months of this year, South Korea's trade dependency on China stood at 21.8 percent, compared with 12.2 percent for the U.S. and 12.4 percent for Japan, Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) said in a report.

In 2000, the figures were 13 percent for China, 20.1 percent for the U.S. and 15.7 percent for Japan, it said.

South Korea's exports to China are forecast to slow down due to a cooling Chinese economy, new Chinese regulation on processing trade, and its efforts to promote parts and intermediate goods industries, it said.

However, South Korea's trade dependency on China is expected to surpass 25 percent of its total in a few years as imports from China are likely to grow at a faster pace, the think tank predicted.

China has emerged as South Korea's largest trading partner, overtaking the U.S., the world's largest economy.

Seoul, Dec. 18 (Yonhap News)