(China News Service, January 8) At the start of the new year, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung chose China as his first overseas visit destination. This diplomatic move not only reflects South Korea's high regard for developing relations with China, but also sends a positive signal to the international community that both countries are committed to promoting the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.
On January 7, the China-Korea Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum was held in Shanghai. A delegation led by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attended the forum and shook hands with a Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer, Zhiyuan, to learn about the current state of development in the field of humanoid robots.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, China-South Korea relations have gone through 33 years of trials and tribulations, forming a comprehensive development pattern characterized by gradually enhanced political mutual trust, increasingly close economic and trade cooperation, and continuous deepening of cultural exchanges.
A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China-South Korea relationship is in the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and is also conducive to regional and global peace, stability, development, and prosperity. This has become a consensus between China and South Korea.
Economic and trade cooperation: Its role as a ballast stone is becoming increasingly solid.
Economic and trade cooperation has always been the ballast and driving force of China-South Korea relations. In 2024, bilateral trade reached US$328.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. China has been South Korea's largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while South Korea is China's second largest trading partner.
Since the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2015, the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation between the two countries has continued to improve. Cooperation has expanded from traditional manufacturing to emerging fields such as high-end manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, and the digital economy.
Park Sun-kyung, chief representative of the Korea International Trade Association’s Shanghai office, believes that “South Korea excels in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and smart devices, while China is leading in digital infrastructure, e-commerce, and platform innovation.”
He stated that this complementary advantage creates enormous potential for cooperation between China and South Korea in areas such as artificial intelligence applications, cross-border data services, and digital trade platforms.
On the evening of December 5, 2025, the "Korean Chinese Businessmen's Night" event was held in Seoul. The photo shows the event venue. (Photo provided by the Korean Chinese General Chamber of Commerce)
People-to-people exchanges: Proximity and connectivity enhance people's sense of warmth
China and South Korea are geographically close and share cultural similarities. The active people-to-people exchanges are the most vivid testament to the bilateral relationship.
In 2024, people-to-people exchanges between China and South Korea reached 7.725 million, including 2.595 million South Koreans visiting China and 5.13 million mainland Chinese residents traveling to South Korea. Currently, there are more than 1,000 regular flights between the two countries every week. The continued implementation of visa facilitation measures has added even more warmth to this proximity and connectivity.
In recent years, the giant pandas "Bao Family" at Everland Park in South Korea have become adorable ambassadors of friendship between China and South Korea, while the 24 Confucius Institutes and 4 Confucius Classrooms throughout South Korea have enhanced the South Korean people's understanding of Chinese culture.
From the popularity of Korean cosmetics and films among Chinese consumers to the booming sales of Chinese smart home appliances in the Korean market, the mutual influence between the two cultures has permeated daily life.
On July 7, 2025, the female giant panda twins "Rui Bao" and "Hui Bao," born in South Korea, celebrated their second birthday. Everland, located in Yongin, South Korea, held a birthday celebration for them. The photo shows giant pandas "Rui Bao" (left) and "Hui Bao" at their birthday party.
What's even more touching are the heartwarming stories that emerge from the exchanges between the people of the two countries: from Zhangjiajie driver Xiao Bo sacrificing his life to protect South Korean tourists, to South Korean coast guard officer Lee Jae-seok dying in the line of duty while rescuing Chinese citizens. These acts of kindness, along with the sight of Chinese tourists in Seoul's Myeongdong and the laughter of young people enjoying Korean food on the streets of Shanghai, together weave together a vivid picture of people-to-people exchanges, bringing the hearts of the people of the two countries closer together in an invisible way.
