As President Lee Jae-myung has been on a state visit to China since on the 4th, He Lifeng, vice premier in charge of the economy at the China State Council, said at a gathering of about 600 political and business leaders from both countries that the two sides should actively promote the upgrading of economic and trade cooperation.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 5th, Vice Premier He made the remarks that morning at the Korea-China Business Forum held at Diaoyutai in Beijing. The forum was the first business event between the two countries in about eight years since December 2017. It was co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
From Korea, an economic delegation of 416 people from 161 companies, including President Lee, attended, while from China, more than 200 business leaders took part, including Vice Premier He; Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; Hou Qijun, chairman of China Petrochemical Corporation; Ni Zhen, chairman of China Energy Engineering Group; and Liao Lin, chairman of Industrial and Commerical Bank of China.
At the forum, Vice Premier He said, "Taking the important consensus reached through the mutual visits of the two leaders as a strategic guideline, China and Korea should actively advance the qualitative upgrading of economic and trade cooperation and continually open up a new phase of cooperation and mutual benefit." He also said, "China will firmly expand high-level opening up," and added, "We welcome corporations from all countries, including Korean corporations, to invest in China, conduct business, and share development opportunities."
Meanwhile, President Lee, the first to make a state visit to China in nine years since former President Moon Jae-in, will meet again in the afternoon with Chinese President Xi Jinping, two months after their previous meeting. The summit is expected to discuss agendas including economic and trade cooperation, expanded cultural exchanges, and the Yellow Sea structures issue.