China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are fostering closer cooperation across tech-driven fields, said the head of the Korea Innovation Center (KIC) in China, who highlighted China's innovation capacity and complete supply chain.
Kim Jong Moon, chief representative of the KIC, which is affiliated to the country's Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized that China's advances in innovation are giving rise to essential partnerships with the Republic of Korea (ROK) in key sectors, such as artificial intelligence and green energy.
"Investment by Chinese tech companies in the Republic of Korea is growing rapidly each year. The ROK tech companies are also continuously establishing companies, research institutes, and factories in China. Therefore, the ROK really needs cooperation with China in supply chains and resources, especially given China's outstanding capacity for innovation in recent years," said Kim in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) recently in Beijing.
"Our center focuses on the 12 key industrial sectors prioritized by the ROK's Science and Technology Ministry, including artificial intelligence, secondary batteries, low-carbon industries related to environmental protection, new pharmaceuticals, and information and communications technology (ICT) fields such as 5G and 6G," he said.
ROK President Lee Jae Myung led an economic delegation consisting of over 200 ROK entrepreneurs on a state visit to China from Jan 4 to 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his ROK counterpart in Beijing on Monday. Xi emphasized that the two sides should deliver more cooperation outcomes in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, green industries and elderly services.
Following the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of 15 cooperation documents covering areas including scientific and technological innovation, ecological environment, transportation, and economic and trade cooperation.
ROK business community values China's innovation strength, supply chain
The Republic of Korea (ROK) government led by Lee Jae Myung is moving away from a value-centered diplomacy grounded in a strong alliance with the U.S. toward a more pragmatic China policy based on national interests, which is a welcome change, a ROK professor said.
Lee concluded his first four-day state visit to China on Wednesday after taking office in June 2025, signaling a renewed effort to deepen ties between the ROK and China as the two sides signed a series of cooperation agreements reflecting mutual interests in strengthening economic and diplomatic relations.
Moon Chung In, a professor of Yonsei University and former special advisor to the ROK president for unification, security and foreign affairs, said the incumbent ROK administration is betting on pragmatic diplomacy to navigate the storm of a volatile geopolitical landscape.
"President Lee Jae Myung has been championing pragmatic in our diplomacy based on national interest, not on value. He rejects the whole 'Manichean' [view of a] dualism of good and evil in doing foreign policy. And also he emphasized the importance of seeking truth from facts. China is near and powerful and very prosperous. Therefore, we have to maintain very good relations with China," he said.
Moon believes Lee's pragmatic diplomacy will guide his administration to manage relations with neighboring countries from a practical, national interests-based perspective.
"He has been pursuing the policy of strategic empathy. He always wanted to put himself in other's shoes so that we can have a better understanding, so that we can avoid misunderstanding while building trust with each other. I think that is the kind of approach he has undertaken since his inauguration. Therefore, from his pragmatic diplomacy point of view, China is a very, very important partner for South Korea," he said.
Lee seeks to brand himself and his administration as centrist and pragmatic, representing a significant departure from former ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol's value-based diplomacy.
"I would say there's a kind of paradigm shift in our foreign policy, getting away from the blind obsession with value while pursuing the maximization of national interest through mutual respect. That is one of the fundamental changes in foreign policy of South Korea. Therefore, in this sense, Lee Jae Myung's foreign policy is very well taken," Moon said.
ROK shifts away from value-based diplomacy toward pragmatic China policy: professor
