The 10th China (Guangdong) – Republic of Korea (ROK) Development and Exchange Conference, co-hosted by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Trade & Industry of ROK, was held in Guangzhou on October 21.
With the theme of "Boosting New Productivity, Fueling Collaboration Momentum", the conference focused on bilateral cooperation in the fields of new energy, artificial intelligence, low-altitude economy, and biopharmaceuticals. Approximately 80 representatives from governments, enterprises and related institutions attended the event.
Zhang Guozhi, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, highlighted Guangdong's long-standing economic ties with the ROK, emphasizing the province's role as a global manufacturing and innovation hub. "Our collaboration spans decades and continues to deepen, particularly in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, green energy, and biopharmaceuticals," Zhang said.
She invited ROK enterprises to expand investments in Guangdong, leveraging opportunities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and participating in key exhibitions, for example, the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair).
The Vice Governor underscored Guangdong's commitment to creating a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, and providing great services for the development of ROK companies in Guangdong.
Park Jong-won, ROK Deputy Minister for Trade & Industry, highlighted Guangdong's advanced manufacturing ecosystem and global brand competitiveness. "ROK and Guangdong share strong industrial synergies, particularly in sectors such as electronics, renewable energy, and chemical materials," he noted, hoping to deepen cooperation across multiple domains to drive mutual prosperity.
Lee Inho, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), said that the development of China-ROK economic cooperation has benefited from the cooperation with Guangdong, which is at the forefront of China's reform and opening up and has led the development of China's economy. "Guangdong Province is China's economic powerhouse, continuously driving the Chinese economy with its high-level manufacturing and service industries as well as its innovative and entrepreneurial environment," he added
Guangdong, China's most populous province with a permanent resident population of 127 million, is the economic powerhouse featuring robust foreign trade and innovation. In 2024, Guangdong's GDP surpassed 14 trillion RMB, ranking first nationwide for 36 consecutive years.
Statistics show that in the first three quarters of 2025, Guangdong's trade with ROK reached 330 billion RMB, with imports from ROK accounting for 245.8 billion RMB. In 2024, bilateral trade totaled nearly 410 billion RMB, with imports from the ROK reaching approximately 300 billion RMB.
According to the Global Innovation Index 2025 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster has ranked first among the top 100 innovation clusters.
Reporter | Zhou Hongdou
Editor | Yin Juewen