Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea (ROK)'s. On August 24, 1992, China and ROK formally established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.

In 1998, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) announced the establishment of a collaborative partnership for the 21st century. In 2003, both sides issued the China-ROK Joint Statement announcing the establishment of the China-ROK "comprehensive cooperative fellowship." In 2008, China and the ROK announced the establishment upgraded from the "comprehensive cooperative fellowship" to the "strategic cooperative partnership."

China and the ROK have proposed many policies and plans to strengthen cooperation in the economic and trade fields. For example, the two countries signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2015. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased since the agreement. In addition, China's Belt and Road Initiative launched in 2013, has provided much assistance and support in the trade between China and the ROK.

Over the past 30 years of diplomatic relations, bilateral trade between China and the ROK has increased more than 70 times, from $5 billion in 1992 to $363 billion in 2021. According to China's General Administration of Customs, the gross value of bilateral trade between the two countries increased steadily. The development of trade between China and the ROK has also undergone many difficulties and negotiations, for instance, the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there was a decrease after each crisis, trade recovered in a relatively short period.

China-ROK bilateral trade has grown significantly in the past 30 years since diplomatic ties were established, thanks to complementary industrial structures and cooperation in the multilateral international trade order. Initially, it was dominated by the light and heavy chemical industries, which rapidly upgraded to high-value products such as semiconductors and flat panel displays. Despite an existing trade deficit, China's exports of electronics and high-tech products to the ROK have grown significantly.

China and the ROK have also made substantial efforts to expand cultural and educational exchanges and deepen mutual understanding. From 2000 to 2019, the number of ROK students studying in China increased significantly, reaching 70,500 in 2016. There was a slight drop in 2003 due to the SARS epidemic, but the number steadily increased over the next five years, and the THAAD missile deployment reduced the number of ROK students in China to 50,600 in 2018. Despite that, ROK students constituted the most number of international students in China in 2018.

The first decade of the 21st century witnessed the rapid development of tourism between China and the ROK. From 2000 to 2007, the number of ROK tourists in China rose from 1.3 million to 4.8 million. In the following decade, two notable drops were influenced by the 2008 global financial crisis and the THAAD deployment around 2017.

"This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK. The two sides have respected and supported each other and contributed to each other's success. This has not only delivered important benefits for both countries and peoples, but also contributed significantly to regional peace, development and prosperity," said State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in conversation with visiting ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin on August 9.

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