[Global Times special correspondent to South Korea Xing Xiaojing and Wang Cong] Editor's note: On the morning of October 30, local time, President * arrived in South Korea by special plane. At the invitation of President Lee Jae-myung of the Republic of Korea, he attended the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Informal meeting and a state visit to South Korea. In order to report on related activities, the Global Times reporter entered the country from Busan, the second largest city in South Korea, and arrived in Gyeongju, the host of the conference, via Ulsan Metropolitan City (referred to as "Ulsan"). Because government representatives and media people from many countries in the world are flocking to Gyeongju, it is difficult for reporters and their party to book a suitable hotel locally, so they choose to stay in nearby Ulsan. When I first arrived, the first impression of this city to reporters was that it was like a "bridge"-connecting Busan and Gyeongju, and connecting the modernity and history of South Korea in series. In several days of intensive interviews, the reporter observed the multi-dimensional interaction between China and South Korea at close range by talking with local officials, representatives of enterprises and non-governmental organizations.

Exclusive dialogue Zhangshan City administrative deputy mayor: China joins hands toward the future

Ulsan, located on the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula, is an important industrial and port city in South Korea and is known as the "industrial capital" of the country. It is also the core area of Korea's petrochemical, shipbuilding and automobile industries, and the birthplace of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Hyundai Motor Group is here. Get on the observation deck of Ulsan Bridge and overlook the whole port. Giant ships are berthed here. Ulsan Automobile Factory, the world's largest automobile manufacturing base under Hyundai Motor Group, is just around the corner.

Whale sculptures, whale museums, whale tour boats, even hotel rooms, wallpapers, hanging clocks, etc. are also related to whales. There are local people who say that about 7,000 years ago, their ancestors lived in whaling and battling in the waves was their glory. After the International Whaling Commission passed the Global Whaling Convention in 1986, South Korea stopped commercial whaling. Since then, Whaling has actively promoted the transformation of the historical whaling port into an ecotourism destination. Whaling also entered a "friendly city" relationship with many countries around the world, including Shandong Tobacco, and jointly developed marine ecological protection cooperation.

Ulsan City Hall is less than two kilometers away from the hotel where the reporter stayed and is the administrative center of this city with a population of 1.1 million. The display cabinets in the lobby on the first floor are filled with gifts from all over the world, including red ceramic vases from Changchun and golden seals from Harbin, which tell the friendship between the city and China.

The reporter gave an interview with the executive deputy mayor of Ouzan City, Anchun Dao. Just entered his office, a model of an aircraft of China Southern Airlines on the desk appeared in the reporter's eyes. In October this year, during the "Ouzan Industrial Festival", Southern Airlines opened temporary international flights from Guangzhou to Ouzan. Anchun Dao said that Guangzhou is an important base in the Chinese automotive industry, and he went to Guangzhou to research and explore, and in the future, if two direct flights could be opened, it would not only facilitate the exchanges between the two industries, but would also be another example of close cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

In Beijing, Shanghai, he was amazed at the pace and scale of the development of Chinese cities; in Henan, Zhen Ling Temple and Xi'an Soldier Ma'an, he was concerned about China's historical culture. In recent years, Xi'an has been paying attention to China's achievements in emerging fields such as new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI). He told the Global Times reporter, "AI cooperation" and "dealing with demographic changes" are the two major topics of this year's APEC conference, Zhejiang is pushing the urban transformation through AI to address the challenges of aging population and population reduction.

"What China products do you like best?" In response to the reporter's question, An Chengda blurted out "sweeping robot". He believes that the application of AI technology can help reduce labor burdens and improve quality of life, and is of great significance to an aging society."In the future, South Korea and China can seek cooperation space in emerging industries."

When asked about how to look at China-Korea relations, Xi Jinping did not rush to answer, but instead showed reporters an artwork painting of turtles in the valley of Zhejiang, engraved with whales, hunting and other patterns, comparatively fully depicting the life scene of locals from about 7,000 years ago. Xi Jinping pointed to the iconic text on the rock engraving said that Korea is one of the important members of the Chinese cultural circle, and the two countries since ancient times have been an important part of the East Asian civilization, and together to the future will promote the development and prosperity of the region.

During the interview, An Chengda told the Global Times reporter that he had received many China government officials and business representatives in this office, but this was the first time he had received a China reporter, and the first time he had received an exclusive interview from China media. The originally scheduled 50-minute interview lasted nearly an hour and a half. At parting, An Chengda took a group photo with the reporter and said,"Welcome to South Korea often."

"Made in China" enters the Korean market, complementing each other's advantages and setting a model for cooperation

Since the establishment of China-Korea relations in 1992, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been stable, healthy and rapidly developing. China is South Korea's largest trading partner, largest export market and largest source of imports, South Korea is China's second largest trading partner.As China-Korea relations continue to warm up, the two countries' enterprises are increasing cooperation efforts, local enterprises are also eager to explore the Chinese market.

South Korea¡¯s SDNT Co., Ltd. is located in an industrial park in Ouzan City. When a reporter from the Global Times visited its factory, it was seen that staff were operating a heavy-duty automated transport vehicle (AGV) for transporting large equipment. SDNT Co., Ltd. CEO Yong Sidoon told reporters: ¡°This AGV was manufactured by our partner Tianjin Robotics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tianjin Robotics Co.) We were looking for customers in South Korea, signing contracts, then ordering Chinese companies to manufacture and deliver it as quickly as 4 months, while European manufacturers would take 8 months or even 10 months.¡±

According to Yong Zedong, there are many heavy industry companies in South Korea, the demand for AGV is big, but local enterprises lack funding for research and development.At the same time, Chinese enterprises have good technology, high efficiency, and can quickly adjust product design according to customer needs, with strong flexibility, this response speed is an important competitiveness in the international market.

From 2005 to 2015, Yong Zedong was a permanent employee of the Korean modern heavy-duty group's robotics automation business headquarters in Beijing, so I could speak fluent Chinese when I worked in China, mainly selling the products of the modern group to the Chinese market, but later China's technology in some fields has surpassed Korea, so I thought, why not bring Chinese products back to Korea?"

The "Global Times" reporter in an interview with SDNT Corporation, just encountered the visit of the representatives of Tianjin Luxury Company, the two enterprises to jointly participate in an industry exhibition. Tianjin Luxury Company Chairman Zhi Yuan said that the SDNT Corporation acquired the exclusive agency rights of the reputation company AGV in Korea, responsible for the "One Dragon" service before sale, sale and after sale. Despite the global technology of China's AGV products, the application scenario is wide, but Tianjin Luxury Company's overseas sales experience is insufficient, the advantages of both sides are complementary, forming a high-efficiency synergy.

In Zhiyun's view, the deep merger of Chinese and Korean culture is the basis for smooth cooperation between the two sides.SDNT Corporation and Tianjin Luxury Company employees have told reporters that the two sides will adhere to the long-term concept of in-depth cooperation, and in the future can jointly expand Southeast Asia and even broader international markets and new starting points, together building a bright future. "

Other small and medium-sized enterprises and brands in South Korea are also actively exploring the Chinese market. The Global Times reporter visited a jewelry and art producer in Ouzan called Cloi Soo. The company¡¯s chief executive Kim Hong Feng said that the company plans to open overseas branches in Beijing, Shanghai and other places in the future.

Spanning 33 years of friendship, the inheritance of China-South Korea friendship between two generations

Korea-China Economic, Cultural and Educational Association is a non-governmental organization covering three major fields: economy, culture and education. Since its establishment in 2004, this institution has been committed to promoting non-governmental friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea. In an interview with the Global Times reporter, Jin Jingda, president of the Ulsan branch of the association, described the inheritance of Korea-China friendship between him and his father spanning two generations.

At the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea in 1992, when a China female student went to Ulsan to participate in activities, she served as an interpreter for Jin Jingda's father Jin Jiatong. Since then, Jin Jiatong has been providing assistance to China students studying in South Korea. Because of her father, KINGU also met this China female student once and then lost contact. After his father passed away, Jin Jingda accidentally discovered the contact information of the international student while sorting out his belongings, so he mustered up the courage to send an email.

Unexpectedly, the other party quickly replied: "Uncle helped us a lot at that time. I always wanted to repay this kindness, but I couldn't contact you before, so I could only keep thinking about it." The China female student at that time was Shin Kyung Sook, the current chairman of the Korea-China Economic, Cultural and Education Association.

Jin Jingda was born in a family of doctors in 1972 and is a representative of a medical device company in South Korea. "When I learned that Sister Shen Jingshu has worked hard to promote non-governmental exchanges between South Korea and China for many years, I also had the idea of following suit." He told the Global Times reporter that Ulsan is the heart of Korean industry and a very cautious and conservative city. Compared with Seoul, Busan and other places, local people don't know much about China. Jin Jingda believes that to promote the development of Korea-China relations, we should not only start from the policy level, but also strengthen people-to-people exchanges. "I want to do something for this, so with the help of sister Shen Jingshu, I set up Ulsan Branch of Korea-China Economic, Cultural and Educational Association".

¡°In the past few years with people from all walks of life in China, I have felt that confidence is the starting point for all cooperation.¡±King Dao said that when people start to engage in exchanges with the Chinese people, people around them will look suspiciously.The people of Ussuri usually start to act only after they have established genuine trust.King Dao did not explain much, but instead showed the results to the locals through one action, for example, after inviting the Chinese Arts League to visit Ussuri, the artists of the two countries will naturally start to communicate; after increasing the number of meetings of representatives of the two companies, the two sides will naturally start to negotiate business.

¡°After more results, the local people generated a resonance of ¡®Oh! this is real communication!¡¯, so the atmosphere is now more open than before.¡± Kim said he would accumulate trust between the two nations as his duty and continue to relevant goals through action. In order to communicate better, he began to learn Chinese. During the interview, he even took out a collection of his own 2023 Global Times newspaper and told reporters that it was a valuable learning material he had brought back from China before. For the visit of Chinese leaders, Kim was delighted. He told the Global Times reporter that this was a new starting point for relations between the two countries. When the reporter asked Kim Jong-un to use three words to shape relations between China and Korea, he replied ¡°competition¡± ¡°partner¡± ¡°respect¡±. ¡°competition¡± means self-improvement, ¡°

After the interview, the reporter gave Jin Jingda a small gift. Later on the 27th, he sent a photo of a row of naive panda dolls presented by reporters under the national flags of China and South Korea. "May the friendship between South Korea and China last forever!" Kim Jing-da said this to reporters in his message.