Samsung heir meets Shaanxi leader to solidify cooperation

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Hu Heping, Communist Party Secretary of Shaanxi province, during his two-day visit to Xian, China, the tech giant said Tuesday.

Lee held a meeting with the provincial leader after visiting Samsung’s memory chip plant in Xian. He was the first foreign business mogul to visit China after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hu expressed gratitude over Samsung’s provision of quarantine aid for Chinese citizens, including those working for the company in the region.

The Chinese official credited Samsung’s efforts to practice strict quarantine as a foreign company, and proposed the Samsung heir to elevate the level of cooperation.

The Shaanxi provincial government has pledged to provide full support for Samsung’s projects in the region, according to a state-owned media outlet.

“Such a meeting means that the vice chairman is taking the prolonging impact of the virus outbreak seriously, given that Samsung has been experiencing some difficulties in expanding its investment in the memory plant due to the pandemic,” a company official said.

The move also indicates that Samsung will continue making new investments in the Xian plant in order to maintain its leadership in the memory market, according to industry watchers.

Lee flew back home Tuesday afternoon via a Chinese chartered flight.

He headed straight to Hotel Marian Bay Seoul, near the Gimpo International Airport, a designated testing center to get a virus test.

Under the businessmen fast track quarantine rules, a negative result from the infection test relieves him from the need to undergo 14-day self-isolation.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)