The Presidential Office explained the concept of a 'supply chain alliance' for the 'Indo-Pacific Economic Framework' (IPEF), which was launched on the occasion of US President Joe Biden's visit to Korea and Japan on the 19th, and said, "We are not trying to alienate China by any means. "He said.
He was wary of overreacting, saying that it is to create a platform for cooperation.
An official from the presidential office said at a briefing at the Yongsan Government Complex in the morning of the same day, regarding 'economic security', one of the key agendas of the Korea-US summit on the 21st, "Now, to properly manage the supply chain, we need a kind of alliance system." It is an essential part of economic security.”
It reaffirmed that the US-led IPEF does not exclude China, and that supply chain cooperation between Korea and China is possible.
The official said, "The IPEF is positive in that the global supply chain is connected, and there are parts that we are missing in the high-tech sector, technology leakage, intellectual property rights issues, and digital norms in the new commerce sector, and we need to fill them with international norms," said the official. I don't mean to rule it out."
He added, "The important thing is that the Korea-China FTA follow-up negotiations proceed, and the supply chain can be managed efficiently through the economic cooperation chapter.
Regarding IPEF participation, when asked, 'Do you plan to discuss with the US if a second THAAD incident (leading to China's retaliation) happens?' Do you think it's fair?" he asked.
"The IPEF is not pursuing an agreement, it is creating a platform and mechanism to cooperate with, but it is not overreacting too sensitively." "He said.
(Photo = Yonhap News)