Chongqing- “The perfect logistics network of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area provides diversified solutions for Korean enterprises ready to enter China and even Southeast Asia,” said Kim Woo Jeong, the chief delegate of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency at the Chongqing office at the China-South Korea Logistics Cooperation Online Seminar on November 21. 

Over 50 Chinese and South Korean logistics enterprises, including CJ logistics, HTNS, LOGISALL, LG Chem, COSCO Shipping, and Sinotrans, took part in the seminar.

South Korean enterprises aspire to expand cooperation 

Statistics show that the import-export volume between Chongqing and South Korea reaches $5.29 billion, up 40.8% in the first half year of 2022.

At the seminar, many South Korean enterprises showed their intentions to expand their cooperation with Liangjiang New Area in trade logistics and passage construction.

The Port of Busan said they would like to collaborate with Chongqing’s Guoyuan Port, aiming to deepen the economic and trade exchanges between Western China and South Korea under the RCEP agreement.

Relying on passages like the Yangtze River Golden Waterway, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), and China Railway Express, Guoyuan Port has turned into a rail-water transport covering Southwest and Northwest China. It facilitates Western China to get more involved in the international market.   

Guoyuan Bonded Logistics Center boosts business ties

Corning Chongqing plays a vital role in the city’s development of the entire industry chain of chips, LCD panels, intelligent terminals, core parts, and the Internet of things (IoT). Its raw material for producing glass substrate is imported from South Korea.

Since the operation of the Guoyuan Bonded Logistics Center, Corning instantly set up a raw material storage center, helping the company save at least 5% on logistics costs.  

As the third state-level new area, Liangjiang New Area adheres to the inland open-door policies and builds an international business environment. It has made international industrial parks by cooperating with South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Germany, and Italy.

The cargo from Guoyuan Port can reach over 100 countries and regions, including over 300 ports, and its preferential bonded area attracts more foreign enterprises, come to invest. By now, over 200 South Korea-invested enterprises have been established in Chongqing including Chongqing Hankook, Hyundai Mobis, Sungwoo Hitech, etc. 

Hankook, one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers, based in Seoul, serves as one of the settlers in Chongqing. Since the Chongqing base was established in 2015, the company has achieved an output value of 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, with an annual capacity of 900 thousand TBR tires and 6 million PCR tires.

Hankook keeps enlarging its business scope and has reached a long-term cooperation agreement with Changan Auto and Changan Ford.

In Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, the manufacturing base of Beijing Hyundai works well with its supplier Hyundai Mobis that the auto parts newly produced by Hyundai Mobis will be directly delivered to the assembly line of Beijing Hyundai, realizing the real "zero storage" and greatly improving the production efficiency. 

In addition, Liangjiang New Area has signed a cooperation agreement with Incheon Free Economic Zone. Both sides will actively promote the exchanges of electronic information, high-end equipment, biological medicine, smart city, and modern service.

According to the Liangjiang office of China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Liangjiang New Area will seize the opportunities from RCEP and drive the connectivity at the ports of both sides, further deepening the cooperation on economy and trade, assisting Chongqing to build opening-up highland.