Li Zaiming shared a trend chart of exports to China, experts: maintaining stable relations with China has practical economic significance for South Korea

According to reports from South Korean media such as Dong-A Ilbo and Han Minzu Ilbo, South Korean President Lee Jae myung posted a trend chart of exports to China on social media on the 28th. He mentioned the important position of the Korea-U.S. alliance in diplomacy and also pointed out that properly managing relations with China is equally important. Li Zaiming stated that diplomacy should serve national development and improve people's livelihoods. For an open trading country like South Korea, "exports are the most important factor in promoting national industrial development and improving people's livelihoods.

The data on "Export Trends of Previous Governments to China" produced by the Blue House Industrial Policy Secretariat shared by Lee Jae myung shows that since the Lee Jae myung government came to power, South Korea's monthly average export value to China has been $15.1 billion, an increase of 36% from the $11 billion during the Yoon Suk yeol administration. The relevant data also compared the export situation to China before and after the informal meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders in Gyeongju in November last year: from June to October last year, South Korea's monthly average export value to China was 11.1 billion US dollars; From November last year to August this year, it rose to 17 billion US dollars. The East Asia Daily reported that Li Zaiming particularly emphasized the significant growth trend of exports to China.

Li Zaiming's special emphasis on exports to China this time also has its practical background. In recent years, South Korea's trade with China has been under pressure and has seen a significant rebound since this year. According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's cumulative trade surplus with China from January to May this year was about 9.9 billion US dollars. The latest data from the South Korean Customs Department shows that from September 1st to 20th, South Korea's exports to China reached $16.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 113.8%. During the same period, South Korea's semiconductor exports reached 34.1 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 259.4%, accounting for 47.8% of the total exports. According to South Korean media, the growth of South Korea's exports to China this year is largely driven by the semiconductor market.

Behind the changes in economic and trade data, the Lee Jae myung government has been continuously promoting the improvement of South Korea China relations since taking office. Last November, leaders of China and South Korea held talks in Qingzhou. At that time, the Korean Daily evaluated that the two countries had opened the door to the "restoration of South Korea China relations", especially achieving practical results in the economic and livelihood fields. Both sides agreed to continue promoting the South Korea China Free Trade Agreement on service trade and investment negotiations, and strengthen cooperation in supply chain and other fields.

In January of this year, Lee Jae myung paid a state visit to China and proposed using this visit to Huawei as an opportunity to "hope that 2026 will become the first year of comprehensive recovery of South Korea China relations", emphasizing that economic and trade cooperation and people's livelihood cooperation have always been the core focus of bilateral relations development.

A South Korean expert studying China South Korea relations stated in an interview with a Global Times correspondent on the 29th that Lee Jae myung's linking of China relations with exports and people's livelihoods reflects his "practical diplomacy centered on national interests" approach. This expert believes that for South Korea, which is highly dependent on foreign trade, stable relations with China have practical economic significance. To measure the effectiveness of the current improvement in China South Korea relations, we cannot only look at short-term export figures, but more importantly, to reduce the uncertainty of bilateral relations and create a stable environment for business operations and economic cooperation.

Qi Zhigang, a researcher at the Northeast Asia Research Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, stated in an interview with Global Times on the 29th that South Korea's exports to China have significantly increased, far exceeding the government's level during the same period, which intuitively confirms the effectiveness of the Lee Jae myung government's pragmatic economic and trade policies towards China.

Dang Zhigang stated that since the 21st century, there has been some competition in traditional manufacturing industries between China and South Korea. However, with the advancement of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the two countries have actively explored new cooperation tracks: leading chip companies such as Samsung and SK Hynix in South Korea have driven their own scientific and technological innovation and industrial transformation. Relying on the advantages of semiconductors and high-end AI components, combined with China's huge market, rich application scenarios, and low-cost computing resources, a new pattern of complementary advantages in the digital economy and AI fields has been formed. At the same time, AI core cooperation can further link cultural industries and emerging service industries, drive the coordinated development of the entire industry chain, and become a new growth point for cooperation between the two countries. In the long run, cooperation in emerging fields such as AI between China and South Korea will deeply influence the digital native Generation Z, broaden the development space for young people in both countries, enhance mutual understanding and goodwill among the people, and continue to promote the healthy and stable development of China South Korea relations