Gwangyang Economic Free Zone Authority Hosts Meeting with Chinese Companies Invited by Chinese Ambassador to Korea

Discussion on Sharing Successful Investment Cases and Promoting Exchange

The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority (Commissioner Song Sang-rak, hereinafter Gwangyang Economic Authority) announced on the 30th that it invited Xing Haiming (邢海明), the Chinese Ambassador to Korea, and the delegation of the Jeonnam branch of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Korea to share successful cases of Chinese companies in the Gwangyang Bay Area and discuss ways to revitalize exchanges between the two regions.

On the afternoon of the same day, Ambassador Xing visited two representative Chinese-invested companies located in the Gwangyang Bay Area, HAM and POSCO HY Clean Metal, to hear about their investment success stories, and then attended a meeting with Chinese companies and a dinner event hosted by the Gwangyang Economic Authority.

[Photo provided by Gwangyang Economic Promotion Agency]

HAM is a company that settled in the Gwangyang Bay Area in 2016 and manufactures infant formula, exporting it to China, Russia, and other countries. POSCO HY Clean Metal is a joint venture between China’s Huayou Cobalt and Korea’s POSCO, producing secondary battery precious metals in the Yulchon Industrial Complex.

During the meeting, Commissioner Song Sang-rak broadly discussed the status of Chinese company investments in the Gwangyang Bay Area, plans to expand trade and investment between the Gwangyang Economic Authority and China in the post-COVID era, and the unique advantages of the Gwangyang Bay Area as a base for the secondary battery supply chain.

In particular, he emphasized that the Gwangyang Bay Area is a highly attractive investment destination for Chinese companies seeking to enter the global market, due to Korea’s extensive FTA platform, international trading ports, and business-friendly policies of the Free Economic Zone, and requested active promotion and support from the embassy.

Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming responded by expressing gratitude to the Gwangyang Economic Authority for supporting the establishment and active activities of the Jeonnam branch of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and expressed hope that the region will develop into a model area for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr