Top Chinese envoy highlights synergy of bilateral cooperation in industries

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming highlighted the potential for South Korea and China to lead in a broader global market by synergizing their respective strengths during his welcome remarks at The Korea Herald’s Global Business Forum on Wednesday.

Xing noted that there has been a notable increase in cooperation between Korea and China in recent years, particularly in innovative and future-oriented industries such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar products.

"The two countries are actively promoting bilateral cooperation and are also jointly entering third-country markets," Xing said, citing examples such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

"In the era of evolving trends, both Korea and China have the potential to broaden their perspectives, uncover advantages and synergize their strengths to pioneer a more expansive market."

Xing pointed out that "cooperation between China and Korea in Arab countries will yield positive results."

Speaking at the GBF, Xing also emphasized the salience of enhancing bilateral ties, regardless of shifts in international situations.

"As the adage goes, 'A close neighbor is better than a distant relative,' promoting the healthy and stable development of China-Korea relations aligns with the trend of the times and fundamental interests of both peoples," Xing said.

"Irrespective of shifts in the international landscape, solidifying and well-developing the relationship between China and Korea is the only right choice for both countries."

Xing also conveyed China's strong belief that China and Korea, being close neighbors and inseparable partners, are destined to embark on a joint path toward a bright future, notwithstanding the challenges that neither country desires.

Xing called for the two countries to maintain the original intentions set forth when diplomatic ties were established in 1992, emphasizing the values of neighborly friendship, mutual respect and mutual trust. He further highlighted the importance of both countries aligning with the prevailing trends of openness, inclusion and mutual prosperity.

"In doing so, the relationship between China and Korea will undoubtedly 'welcome the rainbow after the rain.'"

In a separate session, Kim Chang-beom, vice chair and CEO of The Federation of Korean Industries, said there are no right or wrong answers to overcoming geopolitical uncertainties and the transition to artificial intelligence-based technology.

“We can no longer find answers by looking into our past practices or cases, because everything we face these days is new. We need to find ways to deal with geopolitical risks that could derive from the continued war between Russia and Ukraine and the US-China rivalry,” said Kim during the forum.

He emphasized that geopolitics is deeply intertwined with culture, technology and international law.

“Because geopolitics infiltrates diverse sectors, business leaders must know how to read the power game and make use of it. Plus, global networking is becoming even more important these days," Kim said.

Meanwhile, Park Chang-woo, CEO and founder of Soon Ent., South Korea's top TikTok creator management firm, offered his insight on brand marketing using short-form content.

“When we talk about trends these days, the word ‘short-form’ always follows. But we only tend to observe the trend instead of getting involved with it. Now is the time to utilize short-form content platforms such as TikTok to target the MZ generation, which comprises 70 percent of TikTok users,” said Park.

“Interaction that includes clicking the like, subscribe and share buttons is part of the culture on TikTok, and so is copying popular content. If you copy trending short-form content -- which is called a ‘challenge’ on TikTok -- to market your brand, the number of followers will increase.”

According to Park, making a 15-second clip to advertise a business is much easier to do than creating long-form content such as the longer videos uploaded to YouTube.