The head of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Commerce interprets the results of the 24th meeting of the China-Korea Joint Economic and Trade Committee
On August 1, the 24th meeting of the China-Korea Joint Economic and Trade Committee was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province. This meeting is the first intergovernmental economic and trade cooperation mechanism meeting between China and a foreign party since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. It can be said to be a special meeting held under special circumstances. It will definitely write a special note in the history of China-South Korea economic and trade relations. This page has also actively explored and accumulated useful experience for conducting all-round foreign exchanges under normalized epidemic prevention and control.
China and South Korea are friendly neighbors and are important economic and trade partners for each other. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, President Xi Jinping and President Moon Jae-in have talked on the phone twice to express sympathy and support, which has provided a fundamental basis for the development of bilateral relations. With the sudden emergence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, global economic growth and the stability of the industrial supply chain have been severely impacted, and international economic and trade cooperation and personnel exchanges have been severely blocked. Only when countries work together can they escape the crisis. All parties urgently need to explore feasible plans for the restoration and development of economic and trade exchanges and cooperation under normalized epidemic prevention and control. At present, China has achieved major strategic results in fighting the epidemic, and the epidemic in South Korea has also been effectively controlled. The two countries have taken the lead in opening a "fast channel" for important business and other personnel exchanges, and favorable conditions for the restoration and development of economic and trade exchanges. China and South Korea took the lead in convening a face-to-face joint economic and trade committee to promote the gradual restoration of intergovernmental economic and trade exchanges and cooperation, demonstrating our determination and will to further expand opening up under the normalized epidemic prevention and control, and sending the outside world the firm development of China and South Korea. The clear and positive signals of bilateral economic and trade relations play an important role model for the restoration and development of regional and even global economic and trade cooperation.
Both China and South Korea attach great importance to this meeting, maintain close communication and make careful preparations. The two sides jointly formulated a pragmatic and effective epidemic prevention plan. Under the premise of ensuring the safety of epidemic prevention, the two sides focused on promoting the development of China-South Korea economic and trade relations and related regional and multilateral economic and trade cooperation issues under the normalized epidemic prevention and control, and reached extensive consensus.
One is to strengthen the top-level design of bilateral cooperation. The two sides agreed to continue to in-depth promote the "Belt and Road" initiative and the "New South" and "New North" policy docking cooperation, actively promote the second phase of the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiations, and accelerate the preparation of the "China-Korea Economic and Trade Cooperation Joint Plan (2021-2025) )" to promote the quality and upgrading of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
The second is to deepen trade and investment cooperation. Both sides agreed to work hard to tap more trade areas and potentials. Actively organize various economic and trade promotion activities to build more trade platforms for enterprises of the two countries. Support the two-way investment of strong and reputable enterprises of the two countries, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises from the other country to invest and start businesses in their own countries.
The third is to promote industrial docking and cooperation. The two sides agreed that China is advancing the "new infrastructure" and the South Korean side has also launched the "Korea version of the New Deal", and the two are very compatible. The two sides should strengthen the docking, jointly promote industrial cooperation to drive trade and investment cooperation in various fields, and cultivate new growth points for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries in the post-epidemic era.
The fourth is to expand local economic cooperation. Both sides believe that local cooperation is the most dynamic and potential component of China-South Korea economic and trade cooperation. The two parties will continue to steadily advance cooperation in the joint construction of China-South Korea industrial parks and create new highlands for local cooperation. The two sides support China's relevant provinces and cities in innovating methods, expanding areas, and in-depth promotion of economic and trade cooperation with South Korea to achieve more practical results.
The fifth is to promote multilateral regional cooperation. The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen communication and coordination under regional and multilateral frameworks, promote the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) within the year as scheduled, advance the negotiation of China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement, safeguard the multilateral trading system, and jointly promote the construction of an open world economy .
In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s diplomatic thoughts, uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, and actively explore feasible plans to strengthen economic and trade exchanges with relevant countries on the premise of preventing and controlling the epidemic, and inject more into promoting global economic recovery. positive energy.