Ambassador to China Noh Jae-heon visited the Hainan Free Trade Port with Korean businesspeople to inspect the local policy environment and the development status of new industries.
The Embassy of Korea in China said that Noh visited Hainan Province from on the 2nd to the 4th. Consul General in Guangzhou Kang Sang-uk and about 10 Korean businesspeople in fields such as bio and pharmaceuticals accompanied the visit.
On the purpose of the visit, the embassy said it was part of efforts "to review conditions for the entry of our corporations in Hainan, China's hub of openness, so that the practical, livelihood-based cooperation agreed between the Korean and Chinese leaders in Jan. can be felt in people's lives, and to flesh out horizontal and reciprocal cooperation models in areas such as services and advanced industries."
In particular, the visit took place after the implementation on Dec. 18 last year of the Hainan Free Trade Port customs closure measure, and was arranged to directly review the situation following the institutional transition and to more concretely explore the potential for future cooperation. Customs closure is a high-level opening measure that converts Hainan into an independent customs system separate from mainland China.
Noh visited the free trade port policy promotion hall, an aircraft maintenance industry base, a high-tech industrial park, and the Yangpu Economic Development Zone, and held meetings with local government officials and related corporations. He also attended a meeting of Korean residents and businesspeople in Hainan Province and the "Korea-China inter-corporate cooperation exchange," encouraging corporations and discussing ways to accelerate cooperation in the Korea-China health sector.
Noh also visited the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone to hear about policies supporting the entry of overseas pharmaceutical and medical device corporations and medical institutions. The businesspeople discussed the priority use of overseas pharmaceuticals not yet approved in China and expedited approval procedures, seeking cooperation plans to expand the future entry of our corporations.
A visit was also made to Tianyinge in Sanya. Tianyinge is the presumed burial site of about 1,200 Koreans who were forcibly conscripted during Japan's invasion of Hainan in Feb. 1939. Noh paid tribute to the victims and asked Hainan Province to cooperate on preservation, research, and memorial projects for Tianyinge.
In addition, official meetings and lunches and dinners were held with key relevant authorities, including the party secretary and vice governor, the mayors of Haikou and Qionghai, and the party secretary of Danzhou.
Noh said, "We plan to continue to steadily expand cooperation with Hainan Province in various fields, including not only bio but also environment, culture, and people-to-people exchanges."