Middle Market Sector: "Korea-China Summit Lays the Foundation for Concrete Cooperation Processes"

The Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea stated that the summit between President Lee Jaemyung and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be recorded as a historic milestone that lays the foundation for concrete cooperation processes to effectively respond to changes in the global economic environment.

In a commentary released on January 6, the Federation said, "Visiting China as the first diplomatic event of the new year demonstrates the government's strong will to swiftly restore human and material exchanges with China, our largest trading partner, and to accelerate a robust economic and livelihood recovery. This is a highly desirable move."

The Federation continued, "In particular, the establishment of a new ministerial-level dialogue for commercial cooperation, the signing of 14 related MOUs covering digital technology, intellectual property protection, environmental and climate cooperation, as well as the introduction of a general permit system to ensure the smooth supply of China's critical minerals, and the reaffirmation of China's commitment to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, all serve to concretize the scope of broad cooperation. These efforts will function as a foundation for more substantive exchanges."

China is the largest export destination and one of the top three preferred overseas markets for middle market companies. Accordingly, the sector expects that this Korea-China summit will serve as an opportunity to discover new growth drivers. The Federation added, "Through the second round of Korea-China FTA negotiations, we hope to resolve the inequities that have increased our companies' relative burdens by expanding further tariff reductions and exemptions, and to significantly ease China's remaining non-tariff barriers to a level befitting an advanced economy. In the short term, this will help prevent damage to domestic industries, and in the long term, we hope it will contribute to building a more advanced and friendly cooperative relationship between the two countries."

The Federation also stated, "To maximize the outcomes of the Korea-China summit, it is essential to actively utilize multi-layered networks involving both the public and private sectors to swiftly implement the summit's discussions. At the same time, constructive consultations must continue to derive reasonable solutions and effective cooperation measures for pressing issues such as peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the West Sea structures."