Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon is embarking on a business trip to China to promote economic and friendly cooperation.
On September 21, Gyeonggi Province announced that Governor Kim Dongyeon will visit Chongqing, the economic hub of central and western China, Shanghai, the country's economic capital, and Jiangsu Province, which has the second-largest economy in China, from September 22 to 27.
This will be Governor Kim's second visit to China since taking office. In November 2023, he visited China to discuss economic cooperation measures with Vice Premier He Lifeng and agreed to expand practical cooperation with Hao Peng, Party Secretary of Liaoning Province, and Li Lecheng, Governor of Liaoning Province.
Through this visit, Gyeonggi Province aims to strengthen exchanges with new economic centers in China and to invigorate practical cooperation in the fields of economy, culture, and tourism, thereby contributing to the enhancement of friendly relations between the two countries.
AI companies based in Gyeonggi Province, including NHN Cloud, Hancom, Dime Research, AI Works, and Initech, will also accompany Governor Kim on this visit.
During the trip, Governor Kim will sign new friendship and cooperation agreements with Chongqing and Shanghai, and will discuss ways to deepen cooperation with Jiangsu Province to mark the first anniversary of their sisterhood relationship.
The friendship and cooperation agreement with Chongqing is the result of working-level consultations that followed President Lee Jaemyung’s proposal to expand cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and Chongqing during his tenure as governor in 2019.
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon is taking a commemorative photo after signing an exchange and cooperation agreement during his visit to Liaoning Province, China, in 2023. Photo by Gyeonggi Province
In addition to the friendship and cooperation agreement, Gyeonggi Province and Chongqing will sign two memorandums of understanding (MOUs). The Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator will sign an MOU with the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce for economic, trade, and business cooperation, and another MOU with Liangjiang New Area for collaboration in advanced industries such as AI, biotechnology, and new materials, thereby strengthening practical exchange and cooperation.
Liangjiang New Area is considered one of China’s three major national-level new areas, alongside Pudong New Area and Tianjin New Area. In China, a "New Area" refers to an administrative and economic special zone designated for new development.
Governor Kim will visit Shanghai to discuss AI cooperation measures and will donate 100 Korean books, including works by Han Kang, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, to the Shanghai Library, the largest in China.
Governor Kim will also visit Jiangsu Province as a reciprocal visit, following the elevation of relations to a sisterhood agreement with the province's Party Secretary during his visit to Gyeonggi Province in June last year, in order to further strengthen ongoing cooperation.
Meanwhile, as of last year, Gyeonggi Province's trade volume with China reached 91.5 billion US dollars (28.8%), making China its largest trading partner. Gyeonggi Province accounts for 33.5% of all trade between South Korea and China.
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