China to be ROK's largest investment destination

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 ◆ China to be ROK's largest investment destination

China may become the largest investment destination of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Laegue Leem, ROK's vice-minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, said here recently.

Speaking at the Korea-China Technomart 2002, Leem said ROK investment in China reached 970 million US dollars last August, and is expected to hit a total of 1.5 billion US dollars this year.

Bilateral trade rose to 35.91 billion US dollars in 2001, five times over that of 1992 when China and ROK forged diplomatic ties, he said.

ROK enterprises hope to shift the focus of China-ROK trade from the trade of goods to exchanges of capital and technology, Leem said, adding that ROK enterprises' setting-up of R&D centers in China will facilitate the industrialization of technology and sharpen the products' competitive edge in the international market.

Statistics from the ROK Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy shows ROK exports to China increased this year, and an expected 29.2 percent growth this year will make China the largest export market for ROK, surpassing the United States and Japan, since last September.