Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Insun (right) and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei on Dec. 12 take a photo at a meeting of a joint Korean-Chinese economic committee at Government Complex-Seoul in the city's Jongno-gu District. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

A meeting of a joint economic committee with China on Dec. 12 discussed economic cooperation at Government Complex-Seoul.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its Second Vice Minister Kang Insun held talks with Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei on the state of such cooperation such as management of stable supply chains, stimulation of trade and investment, and reinforcement of regional and multilateral cooperation, as well as the direction of future collaboration.

Vice Minister Kang said, "Because the leaders of both countries reached a consensus on the need to stably manage supply chains, we expect stronger communication and cooperation to stably maintain such chains."

"The force that connects the hearts of the people in both countries lies in culture," she added. "We hope for more active cultural content exchange and cooperation in intellectual property rights."

"As the 2025 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) chair country, Korea is striving for the sustainable and comprehensive growth of the Asia-Pacific region," she said. "We expect continued close cooperation with China, the next chair country."

In response, Vice Minister Li lauded the progress in issues discussed at the last committee meeting last year, stressing the need for stronger institutional cooperation.

The committee is a comprehensive dialogue channel that has held regular meetings since 1992, shortly after the two countries formed official ties.

aisylu@korea.kr