Survey showing SK manufacturing GDP highly reliant on Chinese market highlights growing economic complementarity

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By Chu Daye (Global Times) 09:51, May 22, 2025

South Korea's manufacturing sector remained highly reliant on overseas market demand, including from the US and China, in 2023, the Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a domestic survey.

The survey, carried out by the Korea Enterprises Federation and published on Wednesday, showed that the South Korean manufacturing sector's GDP was most dependent on demand from the US, at 13.7 percent. This was followed by China with a reading of 10.8 percent and Japan at 2.6 percent.

Notably, the report said that compared with 2000, the South Korean manufacturing sector's GDP dependence on demand from the US in 2023 decreased to 13.7 percent from 14.8 percent, while its dependence on demand from China more than doubled from 4.8 percent to 10.8 percent.

A Chinese expert said that the findings again highlighted the growing trade ties between the two East Asian neighbors and their economic complementarity, against the backdrop of accelerating cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea.

"The survey results are reflective of development trends in the past two decades, which saw increasingly intensified economic and trade cooperation between China and South Korea, and such links are going to be further strengthened under uncertainty brought by the unilateralism and protectionism of the US," said Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean Peninsula issue, at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.

The report also highlighted the absurdity of some South Korean politicians in ignoring such a growing economic bond, the expert said.

On Wednesday, the South Korean government pledged more support measures for key export industries such as biopharmaceuticals and autos, as sweeping US tariffs weigh on the trade-reliant economy, Reuters reported.

Since the US administration slapped tariffs on various products and announced 25-percent duties on South Korea, Seoul has prepared support packages for its auto and chip sectors, as well as for small and medium-sized exporters, according to the report.

South Korea's first-quarter GDP contracted 0.2 percent as exports and consumption stalled amid fears over the impact of Washington's tariffs, according to a separate report by Reuters on April 24.

Since the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2020, economic integration among China, Japan and South Korea continued to advance.

China is committed to high-quality development and expanding high-level openness, vowing to share opportunities with all nations, including South Korea and Japan, said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao at the 13th China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting held in Seoul in March.

Amid downward pressure on the global economy, China, Japan and South Korea, as major regional and global economies, have to make joint efforts to safeguard free trade and the multilateral trading system, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and advance regional economic integration, said Wang.

At the meeting, the economic and trade departments of the three countries agreed to discuss accelerating negotiations on the trilateral free trade agreement, strengthen supply chain cooperation and dialogue on export controls, deepen collaboration in the digital and green economies, enhance local cooperation, and jointly foster a favorable environment for business collaboration.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)