South Korean newspaper reporter.

According to comprehensive Korean media reports, Lee Jae-yong, president of Samsung Electronics, Cui Taiyuan, president of SK Group, Zheng Yixuan, president of Hyundai Motor Group, and Koo Kwang-mo, president of LG Group, will gather at the private estate "Mar-a-Lago" of US President Trump in Palm Beach, Florida this weekend. Korean media said that this is the first time that the heads of the four major Korean groups have visited here at the same time. In view of the ongoing tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States, this gathering at the "Weekend White House" was regarded as "symbolic and sensitive to timing". Some Korean media reminded that Korean companies still have concerns about the investment environment in the United States after the "arrest" incident in September this year.

For the first time, heads of South Korea's four major groups visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago Estate at the same time (data map)

According to the Associated Press, the event was hosted by Sun Jitsu, chairman of SoftBank Group, who is pushing forward with US companies OpenAI and Oracle to jointly invest $50 billion in the construction of an AI infrastructure project called the ¡°Star Gate¡±.

Today¡¯s America that Trump will travel to Sea Lake Lodge from 17 to 19 local time and plans to play golf alongside South Korean entrepreneurs, while communicating directly.

South Korea's "East Asia Daily" analyzed that the meeting was both a business event and had obvious political connotations. In the context of the South Korea-US tariff negotiations that have not yet been finalized, Trump may use this to directly attract investment from South Korean companies, and the heads of the above-mentioned four South Korean groups may emphasize the importance of "win-win" cooperation between South Korea and the United States.

According to previous reports, South Korea and the United States reached a trade agreement framework at the end of July, but they have not yet reached a final agreement on the specific implementation plan. The dispute mainly focuses on South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment to the United States. The ROK stressed that it is difficult to make a one-time capital contribution in cash according to the requirements of the US, and the two sides continue to see-saw this.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent said in an interview with CNBC website on the 15th, "We are solving the details, which shows that the two sides are trying to promote coordination at the technical level." Yonhap News Agency reported that the South Korean delegation visiting the United States to promote follow-up negotiations visited the White House Office of Management and Budget on the 16th, showing that consultations at the working level are accelerating. However, on the same day, Trump reiterated at the White House press conference that South Korea will pay $350 billion in investment funds "in the form of advance payment". This statement is in sharp contrast to the previous position of the ROK, and it is considered that it may add variables to the negotiations between the two sides.

Image by U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent (data map)

The Korean media has generally paid attention to whether the "Hai Lake Farm Meeting" will bring a turn to the impasse in the Korean-U.S. economic and trade negotiations. The Korean media commented that Trump or the South Korean enterprise investment plan for the U.S. economy. But the South Korean business community is still concerned about the stability of the U.S. market. Especially in September, the U.S. Immigration Bureau stormed South Korean modern cars and LG New Energy in the construction of battery factories and arrested 475 people (more than 300 people are South Korean citizens) after the outbreak of the incident, many South Korean enterprises said that they were "very hesitant" to invest in the United States.

Extended reading

Kill two birds with one stone, China takes action against South Korean shipping giant

Facing the U.S. government's unilateral bullying, China's counterattack and combination of punches have not stopped.

October 14 is the date on which the U.S. unreasonably imposed port charges on Chinese-built vessels, and it is also the day on which China lawfully defended and imposed port charges on U.S. vessels.

On the same day, China further stepped up its efforts and announced that it would take countermeasures against five related US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd., prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from conducting relevant transactions, cooperation and other activities with them.

China has also announced that it will launch an investigation into the affected security and development interests of the shipping industry, shipbuilding industry and related industry supply chain, and will adopt appropriate measures in due course based on the investigation.

As soon as the news came out, Hanwha Ocean's share price fell more than 8%. China's series of thunderous counterattacks also quickly attracted the attention of foreign media, especially South Korean media.

¡°China-U.S. conflict fireworks, South Korea is plagued!¡± the Korean media shouted, China targeted the Korean ocean, so that South Korea¡¯s shrimp was involved in the big whale dispute.

Many media have mentioned Hanwha Ocean's close ties with the United States. Industry insiders have noticed that, unlike the increase in port fees, the sanctions against Hanwha Ocean have accurately hit specific companies and had a huge impact.

Some scholars bluntly said that considering Hanwha Ocean plays a key role in the Trump government's plan to revitalize the shipbuilding industry, the sanctions against Hanwha Ocean can be said to be "killing two birds with one stone," which not only hits the Trump government's shipbuilding plan, but also targets Hanwha's defense products using China rare earths, which will become an important negotiation "chip" in China's hands.

South Korean President Li made a speech during a visit to Korean Hunan Group¡¯s shipbuilding plant

What has Hanwha Ocean done? In fact, China has already made it clear.

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said that the United States has begun to implement the final measures of the 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding fields, seriously violating international law and basic norms of international relations, and seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of China companies. Hanwha Marine Co., Ltd.'s relevant subsidiaries in the United States assisted and supported relevant investigation activities of the U.S. government, endangering China's own sovereignty, security and development interests.

The fact is also true.

For some time, South Korea has played the role of "providing charcoal in the snow" in the Trump administration's plan to "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA).

The U.S. has long been struggling with the weakening of the shipbuilding industry. Currently, the U.S. accounts for less than 1 percent of the world¡¯s commercial shipbuilding, far below China¡¯s about 60 percent, and South Korea ranks second with 22 percent.

In July, Zhang Zhengxi, director of the Commercial Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of South Korea, revealed that in the tariff negotiations, the Trump administration hoped that South Korea would join the United States and jointly contain China in areas such as the shipbuilding industry.

The Financial Times mentioned that China announced sanctions against Hanwha Group at a time when the Sino-US trade situation was once again tense.

According to statistics from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, South Korea's shipbuilding industry accounts for more than 29% of the global market. As part of U.S. -South Korea trade talks, South Korea has committed to investing $150 billion in the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

South Korea¡¯s Korean Daily that South Korea¡¯s shrimp has been involved in the conflict between Chinese and U.S. giant whales, and sanctioned entities will be forbidden to conduct any trading activities with Chinese organizations or individuals.

On August 26, local time, the naming ceremony of the U.S. national security multi-mission ship "Maine" was held at the Hanwha Philadelphia Shipyard

South Korean media analyzed that the policy for Hanwha Group is different from imposing port fees, but directly targets specific private companies, with a huge impact. The port fee measure affects the entire shipping industry through mutual collection of fees between countries, while sanctions on Hanwha may have a direct impact on individual companies.

But no matter what foreign media, it is not the same to mention the close ties between the Hanwei Group and the United States.

Sending funds, orders, and technology, Hanwha Marine, a shipbuilding giant, is a key part of the United States 'plan to revitalize the shipbuilding industry.

Hanwha Philadelphia Shipyard, which was included in the sanctions list, was acquired by Hanwha Group for US$100 million late last year. The shipyard is regarded as a symbolic project of South Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation, and some people even call it part of the "Make the American Shipbuilding Industry Great Again" plan.

According to the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Hanwha Marine has signed a contract with the U.S. Navy to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul work for U.S. Navy ships, helping the Trump administration's efforts to restore global shipbuilding competitiveness.

Comparatively, Hanoi Ocean said in May that it would withdraw from a joint venture in China.

In December last year, Hanwha Group acquired Philadelphia Shipyard to undertake an order from the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) to build five national security multi-mission vessels.

On August 26, Hanwei Group held a ceremony at the factory to name one of the "Minh State" and also announced a U.S. investment plan, saying it would use the Korean-U.S. leaders meeting as an opportunity to invest $5 billion in the shipyard in Philadelphia.

At the ceremony, South Korean President Lee said, ¡°Just as South Korean companies and workers have created the South Korean shipbuilding miracle, now South Korea and the United States must work together to make the miracle of MASGA a reality.¡±

Hanwei Group Deputy Chairman Kim Dong-san also vowed that Hanwei Group will be a reliable partner in reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

South Korea's "Central Daily" quoted Zhu Zhu, a professor at Qinghai University, as saying that China's inclusion of Hunan's Philadelphia shipyard in the sanctions list is a double strike and linkage measure, which both holds back Trump's plans to revitalize the shipbuilding industry, but also targets Hunan's use of Chinese rare-earth elements in defense products.

The Associated Press quoted Cao Cao, vice president of consultancy firm Reddal, as saying China is sending out signals that it will hit third-country companies that have helped the United States weaken China¡¯s maritime dominance.

Reuters pointed out that measures such as imposing port charges are a counterattack by China on the shipping issue against the United States.

China has begun to impose special charges on ships owned, operated, built or hanging U.S. flag, but ships built by China are exempt from payment.

The Athens-based shipping broker Xclusiv said in a report that this sharp reciprocity restriction has plunged the two countries into a spiral of maritime taxation, potentially affecting global freight flows.

A consultant who advises global companies on trade with China believes that the New Deal may not cause much disruption to the industry, and any cost increases are likely to be absorbed by higher prices.

"What can we do? Stop shipping? Trade with the United States is pretty messy, but businesses are always trying to deal with it," he said.

According to the Ministry of Commerce website, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce asked reporters about the 301 investigation restriction measures in the U.S.-China shipbuilding industries.

The U.S. measures are typical unilateral and protectionist acts, seriously violate the WTO rules, violate the principle of equality and reciprocity of the Sino-U.S. Maritime Agreement, give the relevant countries' shipping and shipbuilding enterprises an unfair competitive advantage, constitute a discriminatory practice against China's shipping, shipbuilding and other industries, and seriously harm China's relevant industrial interests.

The spokesman stressed that in order to further safeguard the interests of China's related industries, the relevant Chinese departments, in accordance with relevant regulations, have included some enterprises that assist and support the relevant investigation activities of the United States in the counter-measure list, and launched an investigation on the behaviors of the United States and some countries and enterprises that endanger the safe development interests of China's shipping, shipbuilding and other related industries. During the implementation of the investigation, China will adhere to the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality to carry out law enforcement and investigation, and fully protect the rights of all stakeholders.

China's position on relevant issues is clear, consistent, fighting, accompanying the end; talks and doors are open.China urges the United States to correct its wrong practices, and move forward with China to solve the issues of concerns of the two sides through equal dialogue and consultation.