Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Ahn Duk-geun, ROK Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy in Seoul, South Korea, on March 29. The two sides exchanged views on ways to promote China-ROK economic and trade cooperation, maintain stability of industrial chains and supply chains, and strengthen regional and multilateral cooperation.

Wang Wentao said that China and the ROK are each other's important economic and trade partners and have deeply integrated industrial and supply chains in semiconductor and other fields. The two sides should advance the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, speed up the negotiations of China-ROK FTA phase two, strengthen exchanges and cooperation under such mechanisms as China-ROK cooperation hotline on industrial and supply chains, and export control dialogue, and jointly push for steady long-term economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Wang Wentao stressed that both China and the ROK are beneficiaries and champions of free trade and multilateralism. The two sides should strengthen cooperation under regional and multilateral frameworks such as the World Trade Organization, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, push for an early resumption of negotiations on a China-Japan-ROK free trade agreement, jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system and promote regional economic integration.

Ahn Duk-geun said China is an important economic and trade partner of the ROK. Close cooperation between the two countries has played an important role in ensuring the stability and smoothness of regional and global supply chains. The ROK is willing to further deepen China-ROK economic and trade relations, maintain the stability of bilateral industrial chains and supply chains, speed up the negotiation process of the second phase of China-ROK free trade Agreement, and strengthen cooperation under regional and multilateral frameworks.