China's Jilin delegation wraps up S.Korea trip for trade cooperation

SEOUL, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- A delegation from northeast China's Jilin Province wrapped up its week-long trip to South Korea on Saturday, boosting confidence from the South Korean side in China's economic development and winning support for bilateral trade cooperation.

The delegation consisted of over 40 people from foreign trading companies in the province and departments in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and in the demonstration zone for international cooperation between China and South Korea in Changchun City, according to the department of commerce of Jilin Province.

AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES

During the trip, the South Korean side paid great attention to the competitive industries in Jilin Province and China's market environment and investment-related policies, and many South Korean enterprises expressed their hope to accelerate investment and trade opportunities in China, said Zhang Linlin, an official of the department of commerce of Jilin Province.

South Korean rice cooker manufacturer Cuckoo Electronics said that as the three northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning account for a large proportion of its offline market in China, Cuckoo considers expanding its market to eastern and southern China and hopes to visit Jilin Province and the demonstration zone as soon as possible to discuss cooperation projects.

Li Dawei, an official of the demonstration zone, said that this trip allowed him to get in touch with government officials, business leaders of South Korea and new technologies from South Korea, hoping to bring back some new ideas and make the demonstration zone play a greater role in bilateral economic exchanges.

TIGHT SCHEDULE

The delegation's overseas trip mainly focused on food, chemical, environmental protection materials, warehousing and logistics, culture and tourism, as well as in-depth negotiations and cooperation with relevant associations and enterprises in South Korea, such as Samsung C&T and LG Chem.

"The South Korean side has given us full understanding and support regarding the delegation's tight schedule," said Zhang. "The meeting with KEB Hana Bank officials can only be arranged at the end of their office hours, but they said they would meet with us regardless of the time."

During the trip, the demonstration zone signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gyeonggi Technopark in South Korea to promote exchanges between enterprises in IT convergence.

Seo Sun-young, director of Ansan IT Industry Promotion Agency of Gyeonggi Technopark, said the MoU provides a great opportunity for companies in Gyeonggi province to enter the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun. "We will strive for greater success through continuous exchanges between the governments and companies of the two countries."