Hwaseong-si, Dreaming of Becoming the 'Number One Business Hub,' Turns Its Eyes to China

Jeong Myeong-geun Meets Chinese Ambassador in Korea to Discuss AI and Electric Vehicles
"Local Government Exchanges Are Crucial... We Will Support Various Cooperation Initiatives"

The attention of Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province is turning toward China across the West Sea. The city is actively pursuing efforts to strengthen Korea-China economic exchanges based on the 27,000 companies rooted in Hwaseong.

On the 10th, Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun visited the Embassy of China in Korea with Ahn Sang-gyo, chairman of the Hwaseong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and met with Ambassador Dai to discuss economic cooperation measures.

During the meeting, Mayor Jeong had an in-depth conversation with Ambassador Dai about the globally spotlighted artificial intelligence (AI) 'DeepSeek,' the development of China's electric vehicle technology, and the potential investment of Chinese companies in Hwaseong.

Mayor Jeong and his delegation especially requested the interest and participation of Chinese companies in the AI Expo to be held in Hwaseong this June, the first nationwide by a basic local government, and agreed to expand the platform for Korea-China technological cooperation.

At the meeting, Ambassador Dai proposed, "Let's meet again soon to share traditional Chinese liquor and have a deeper conversation." Mayor Jeong responded, "The two countries are geographically neighboring nations that have maintained close exchanges for thousands of years, and China remains our country's largest trading partner and a very important partner. Especially, our city is adjacent to China along the sea, which facilitates even more active exchanges."

Mayor Jeong added, "Given the unfavorable domestic and international political situations, exchanges and cooperation at the local government level are even more important. Hwaseong is already actively exchanging with four Chinese cities, and we will support various Korea-China exchange cooperations together with the Chinese Embassy."

Hwaseong City has established sister city relations with Ogang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, and friendship city agreements with Weihai City, Shandong Province, and Xingtai City, Hebei Province. In February last year, it also exchanged a letter of intent for friendly exchanges with Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, expanding cooperative relations with major Chinese cities.

Meanwhile, Hwaseong City established the 'AI Strategy Division' in April last year, the first among basic local governments nationwide, and officially declared itself an 'AI Special City' in November of the same year. Starting this year, it has been actively expanding AI services in various administrative fields, including introducing 'Hwaseongin,' an AI civil complaint search service.