[Yonhap Photo]
President Moon Jae-in urged South Korean and Chinese businessmen to make a joint inroad into third countries, saying they should put aside their rivalry on the international stage to expand economic cooperation.
Moon stressed the two countries should shift from traditional ties in the manufacturing industry to service and "premium" consumer industries. He is in Beijing for a four-day state visit that includes a summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Thursday.
"It is true that the relationship between South Korea and China is a competitive one, but I think it is a fateful partnership or fateful community relationship that can prosper through bilateral cooperation," Moon said Wednesday in a forum attended by South Korean and Chinese business leaders.
Moon urged the two countries to build a cooperative relationship of mutual benefit especially in the Fourth Industrial Revolution that covers fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles and nanotechnology.
"We will expand trade investment from traditional manufacturing to premium consumer goods and services in line with changes in the industrial structure of China and South Korea," he said, adding cooperation to develop core technologies related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution would create a synergy effect.
The president suggested his government would actively support joint investments by South Korean and Chinese entrepreneurs in infrastructure and other projects in third countries.
Moon proposed institutionalized exchanges and cooperation and "people-oriented" cooperation to expand cultural and human exchanges as well as future-oriented cooperation based on bilateral economic strategies to cooperate in new areas, create a complementary structure and jointly explore new markets in third countries.
He said China, which is South Korea's largest trading partner, should faithfully implement the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which took effect in 2015, to lower tariffs and trade barriers.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
