Chongqing has announced that the 8th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) will be held from May 21 to 24, with South Korea's Gyeonggi-do serving as guest city of honor for the first time, underscoring a new phase of cooperation in western China as China-South Korea ties continue to improve.

Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has grown steadily in recent years. China is South Korea's largest trading partner, export market and source of imports, while South Korea remains China's second-largest trading partner. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, bilateral trade in goods between the two sides reached $331.2 billion in 2025. 

Strengthened bilateral relations have boosted economic bonds. In January 2026, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung made his first state visit to China since taking office. According to China Media Group, Lee said the trip aimed to ease misunderstandings, advance South Korea-China relations and build a partnership that supports shared development.

Lee's visit was accompanied by an economic and trade delegation of around 200 representatives, highlighting South Korea's intention to deepen cooperation. He noted that with China's technological and economic development, the mode of bilateral collaboration has likewise entered a new era.

South Korean investment gains ground in western China

As the guest city of honor, South Korea's Gyeonggi-do will host a China-South Korea (Chongqing-Gyeonggi-do) economic and industrial cooperation promotion event at the WCIFIT, a key platform for diplomacy, trade and investment in western China.

Located in the central-western region of South Korea surrounding Seoul, Gyeonggi-do is the country's most populous province. It is also a major global hub for advanced industries such as semiconductors and electronics, and is home to leading companies including Samsung, SK Hynix and LG.

The program will focus on economic and trade exchanges between Chongqing and Gyeonggi-do through industrial and investment promotion, matchmaking, negotiations and site visits. Organizers will also unveil the China-South Korea Economic Friendship and Cooperation Center.

South Korean enterprises have expanded their presence in western China during the last two decades, increasing investment and broadening their footprint across sectors including electronics, semiconductors, biomedicine, automobile manufacturing and modern services in cities such as Chongqing, Xi'an and Chengdu.

Amid the supply shortage in the global memory chip market mainly driven by surging demand for AI servers, South Korea's leading companies have placed more production capacity in China. This expansion has also supported Chinese cities in better leveraging the growth of these industries to drive economic development.

In Xi'an, Samsung invested about 2.5 billion yuan (around $368.39 million) in its semiconductor plant in 2025, up 67.5% year on year. The company used the funds to upgrade NAND flash lines from 128 to 236 layers and plans to mass-produce 280-layer products in 2026 to meet rising demand from AI servers and data centers. The Xi'an plant now accounts for about 40% of Samsung's global NAND flash capacity.

In Chongqing, SK Hynix operates its largest overseas packaging and testing base. The facility serves as the group's core back-end production platform in China and handles packaging, testing and module manufacturing for DRAM, NAND flash and other products. Its annual output accounts for more than 40% of SK Hynix's total memory chip packaging and testing capacity.

Chongqing's historic and cultural ties with South Korea

Beyond economic and industrial cooperation, Chongqing shares deep historical ties with South Korea that span more than a century.

After Japan annexed the Korean Peninsula in 1910, a group of Korean independence activists fled to China and founded the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) in Shanghai in 1919. After 1932, the KPG moved to a number of different cities and eventually settled in Chongqing, where it opened offices, formed the Korean Liberation Army and led the independence movement until Japan surrendered in 1945.

The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Memorial Hall in Chongqing is now a popular destination for South Korean visitors to reflect on their history. The site has also been visited by South Korean political figures, including Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae Myung.