South Korea’s Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun met with the communist party chief of China’s eastern province of Jiangsu on Wednesday for talks on ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation on supply chains and trade, the industry ministry said.

During a meeting in Seoul with Jiangsu’s Communist Party Secretary Xin Changxing, Ahn said that the province plays a key role regarding the supply chain relations between the two nations and asked for its active support to ensure stable supply chains for South Korea, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Ahn also asked for the Jiangsu government’s efforts for creating “predictable” business circumstances for South Korean companies operating there.

Jiangsu is the No. 1 partner region for South Korea in terms of trade and investment, and nearly 3,000 South Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics Co., SK hynix Inc. and Kia Corp., are operating in the region.

Xin shared the need for stronger supply chain relations, and vowed to continue effor
ts to enhance trade and investment and to boost cooperation on various industry sectors and the economy, the ministry said.

Trade between South Korea and the province came to US$72.3 billion in 2023, accounting for 23.1 percent of the total trade between South Korea and China.

Source: Yonhap News Agency