The seminar, organized to strengthen research cooperation between the two countries’ leading government-affiliated research institutes, opened with welcoming remarks by President Siwook Lee of KIEP and Director Lu Hao (陆昊) of the DRC.

In his opening remarks, President Lee emphasized that global supply chains are being reorganized amid intensifying strategic competition between the United States and China. He stressed that this makes it increasingly important to reassess the direction of Korea–China industrial and trade cooperation and to explore realistic avenues for collaboration.

Director Lu noted that Korea and China continue to exhibit a high degree of complementarity in their industrial structures and stages of development. He further pointed out the need to actively leverage cooperation potential despite an increasingly complex international environment.

Session 1, titled “Industrial Competition and Cooperation,” was moderated by Ms. Zhang Qi (张琦), Vice-Director-General of the DRC.

On the Korean side, KIEP researchers and representatives from Korean companies delivered presentations on Korea–China industrial competition and complementarity, supply chain cooperation, and collaboration in the hydrogen industry.

On the Chinese side, researchers from the DRC’s Industrial Research Department and representatives from Chinese companies presented analyses of comparative advantages and cooperation potential in key industries, as well as prospects for industrial cooperation with a particular focus on the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

Session 2, titled “Korea–China FTA,” was chaired by Dr. Seung Shin Lee, Executive Director of the Center for East Asian and Advanced Economy Studies at KIEP.

This session featured presentations by Korean and Chinese researchers on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, Asian economic integration, and directions for upgrading the FTA. In addition, industry representatives shared perspectives on the upgrading of the Korea–China FTA and cooperation in the cultural content industry.

The seminar gathered a diverse group of researchers from KIEP and the DRC, as well as representatives from Korean and Chinese companies, including Hyundai Motor Company (China), CJ ENM, SenseTime, and Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanged perspectives on strategies to further expand bilateral cooperation between Korea and China.

- Title: KIEP–DRC Seminar

- Topic: A New Landscape of Korea–China Industrial Development: Competition or Cooperation?

- Date & Time: Monday, December 22, 2025, 09:30–17:30

- Venue: Beijing, China

- Hosts: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), Development Research Center of the State Council of China (DRC)

- Contact: JiWon Choi, Senior Researcher, China Team (jwchoi@kiep.go.kr)