S. Korea, US set to hold senior-level economic talks in Seoul

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States are set to hold annual economic talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation on global supply chains, energy, infrastructure and technology, Seoul officials said.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon and Jose Fernandez, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, will lead the sixth Senior Economic Dialogue (SED), as a Sino-US rivalry intensifies on technological leadership, trade and security.

The two sides are expected to have extensive discussions on supply chain resiliency, the digital economy as well as collaboration in infrastructure, energy, health care and science and technology fields.

Fernandez said earlier teaming up for "trusted" 5G networks will be one of the major agenda items for the meeting, expressing a US desire to work with Korean companies for the next-generation telecommunication projects.

The digital infrastructure is a key battleground of Sino-US competition, as Washington remains concerned about potential security risks from what it calls untrusted vendors in 5G networks, including economic espionage.

The two are likely to delve into ways to facilitate collaboration in major infrastructure projects as Washington has been seen as trying to counterbalance China's sprawling infrastructure project, called the Belt and Road initiative, in the Asian region and beyond.

During his three-day trip to Seoul that began Wednesday, Fernandez has met with senior government officials from the trade and finance ministries as well as business leaders from major semiconductor, battery, bio and construction companies.

On Thursday, the senior US diplomat sat down with First Vice Industry Minister Park Jin-kyu to share opinions on the envisioned "Indo-Pacific economic framework," which would cover trade facilitation, standards for digital economy and technology, supply chain resiliency, decarbonization and clean energy, the ministry said.

Fernandez also met industry leaders in semiconductor, battery, bio and construction sectors, including Samsung Electronics Co., LG Energy Solution Ltd, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., to boost business partnership between the two nations, according to industry officials.

His two-nation Asian trip, which first took him to Japan, came as the Joe Biden administration has been rallying its allies and partners to build a global supply chain less dependent on China, the world's top manufacturing hub and a rising technological powerhouse. (Yonhap)