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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho waves to his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, during a virtual meeting between the two on Aug. 27. (courtesy MOEF)

The economic leaders of the South Korean and Chinese governments met for a videoconference Sunday, the first encounter between the two sides’ economic ministers in two years.

In the meeting, they agreed to create a bureau director-level body to discuss supply chain issues.

With the South Korean government currently planning to take part in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Chip 4 semiconductor supply chain consultative body, attention is focusing on whether Seoul can bring about stronger cooperation with Beijing, which is opposing both US-led initiatives.

For the meeting of the South Korean and Chinese economic ministers, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho met via videoconference Sunday afternoon with He Lifeng, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, which serves as the Chinese agency overseeing the economy. Choo attended the meeting from the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul.

The first meeting of the South Korean and Chinese economic leaders in nearly two years since an October 2020 videoconference, it coincided with the 30th anniversary of the two sides’ establishment of diplomatic relations on Aug. 24.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho speaks with his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, during a virtual meeting between the two on Aug. 27. (courtesy MOEF)

The South Korean and Chinese economic ministers normally meet once a year, but efforts to organize a meeting last year fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.

In his remarks to He, Choo called for “responding to rapid changes in the global environment based on the growth and development between South Korea and China over the past 30 years, including the normalization of interchange, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19 and other factors, and strengthening future cooperation as we respond to the global uncertainties we are both facing.”

Sunday’s meeting lasted for around two hours and included discussions on practical economic cooperation between South Korea and China, cooperation on supply chains and new industries, cooperation on joint expansion into third countries, service industry cooperation, and exchanges related to carbon neutrality policies.

Both Choo and He expressed their agreement on the strongly complementary nature of the South Korean and Chinese economies and their close linkage in supply chain terms. They concluded a memorandum of understanding on strengthening supply chain cooperation and made plans to create a consultative body for supply chain cooperation coordination to address any future issues that arise with supply chain instability. This was the first MoU on supply chains to date to be signed between South Korea and China.

Choo and He also signed an MoU on boosting practice cooperation in economic areas, while making plans to begin jointly holding annual South Korea-China economic cooperation exchange meetings this year, with representatives from their governments, corporations, and think tanks taking part. The idea was proposed by the Chinese side.

Additionally, they signed an MoU on a focused project for cooperation on joint expansion in third countries, while agreeing to continue working toward the steady pursuit of five-year projects such as the development of gas fields off the coast of Mozambique, an area of joint investment by the Korea Gas Corporation and the China National Petroleum Corporation.

“The meeting only included discussions of economic cooperation between South Korea and China, without any reference to Chip 4 or the US,” a South Korean Ministry of Economic and Finance official reported. The two sides also agreed to hold a meeting of their economic ministers in South Korea next year.

By Park Jong-o, staff reporter

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