The ministers of trade from Korea and China have agreed to continue economic cooperation that benefits both sides amid changes in the global trade environment, meeting for the first time in about a year.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 30th, Minister Anduk Geun noted that he held a 'Korea-China Ministerial Trade Meeting' the previous day at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul with Wang Wentao, Director General of China's Ministry of Commerce, to discuss cooperation measures and trade issues in response to changes in the global trade environment.
This meeting was held as Wang attended the Korea-China-Japan Economic and Trade Ministerial Conference on the 30th in Seoul. The bilateral meeting between the trade ministers of Korea and China is taking place for the first time in about a year since November 2023.
Both sides exchanged views on the global trade environment and agreed to continue mutually beneficial cooperation not only bilaterally but also in multilateral trade frameworks such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
The meeting occurred just before the announcement of mutual tariffs anticipated by the incoming Trump administration on April 2. It is speculated that discussions also touched on the U.S. tariff measures, which are expected to cause major shocks to the global free trade system maintained for decades. Both Korea and China are mentioned as primary trade deficit countries with the U.S., likely to be targets of U.S. mutual tariffs.
Both sides agreed to expand cooperation for stabilizing critical mineral supply chains and to continue communication and collaboration to alleviate challenges faced by their corporations. Furthermore, they decided to consistently share the current status of supply chain measures and policies of both countries through the operation of the already active 'Supply Chain Hotline' and 'Export Control Dialogue.' Additionally, the two ministers agreed to cooperate for the successful hosting of ministerial meetings and economic events, with Korea set to host the APEC meeting in 2025 and China in 2026.
Meanwhile, on the same day in Seoul, a trilateral Korea-China-Japan Economic and Trade Ministerial Meeting will be held with Minister Anduk Geun, Director General Wang, and Yosuke Muto, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, in attendance. It has been nearly six years since the Korea-China-Japan Trade Ministers' Meeting was last held in Beijing in December 2019.