Closer bilateral trade and economic relations between China and South Korea will benefit both countries and the world, especially as protectionism is jeopardizing global industrial and supply chains, according to experts.

Bi Jingquan, executive vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, or the CCIEE, said China welcomes South Korean enterprises to enlarge investment in China and expand industrial cooperation in the fields including electronic information, automobile manufacturing, digital economy, and green development, so as to take the complementary advantages and mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between China and South Korea to a higher level.

The two countries are also expected to speed up the second phase of their free trade agreement negotiations, make good use of the opportunities brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, which took effect on Jan 1, and co-develop the third-party markets, he said.

Through that, the two countries will together ensure the safety and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and inject new impetus into regional development and prosperity, he added.

Yoo Il-ho, former deputy prime minister of South Korea, said the pandemic has disrupted the global industrial chain stability, and meanwhile, some developed countries have been creating trade barriers under the guise of protecting high-end industries and technologies.

That, together with the increase in energy and resource prices, and climate change, have posed new challenges to both China and South Korea, and both countries should see each other in a more positive manner, because they can benefit from each other's development, he said.

As economic cooperation between China and South Korea becomes more matured, fair and fierce competition in good faith in various fields between them will be a matter of course. It is necessary for the two countries to have cooperation based on their comparative advantages that are formed through the competition, and achieve quality growth, he said.

Besides, the two countries also need to cooperate to form new international rules and standards to jointly deal with challenges, he added.

The two experts made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the third round of Sino-South Korean entrepreneurs and former high-level officials dialogue held earlier this week.