The Korean and Chinese governments joined hands to strengthen cooperation in the fields of small and midsize enterprises and innovation.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 5th that it signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of small and midsize enterprises and innovation with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on the occasion of the Korea-China summit held in Beijing, China.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a high-level bilateral meeting in the SME and startup sector in September last year, the first in seven years, on the occasion of the 2025 APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting, and have since continued to discuss ways to cooperate.
They reached a consensus to use this state visit as a turning point to strengthen cooperation in the SME and startup sector, leading to the signing of a working agreement.
The memorandum of understanding signed this time expands the scope of cooperation based on the existing memorandum of understanding between the two ministries, which expired in June last year.
In addition to the existing cooperation on ▲ sharing information and experiences on policies to foster small and midsize enterprises ▲ revitalizing personnel exchanges, including experts, the scope now includes ▲ fostering startups ▲ supporting small and midsize enterprises and startups using new technologies, which the ministry said is significant for broadening the categories of cooperation.
In particular, with cooperation in the field of startup fostering newly included in this memorandum of understanding, momentum is expected to build for promoting the APEC Startup Alliance, whose launch was formalized at the 2025 APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting held in Jeju in September last year.
Han Seong-sook, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "This memorandum of understanding is an important turning point that raises cooperation between Korea and China in the SME and startup sector by one step on the occasion of summit-level diplomacy," adding, "Based on friendly relations, we will continue to cooperate so that small and midsize enterprises and startups in both countries can grow together."