Weihai in East China's Shandong province [Photo/IC]

Weihai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, boasts a close relationship with South Korea in terms of economic cooperation due to its geographic advantages, as well as its reform and opening-up policy.

In 1990, two years earlier than China and South Korea established diplomatic relations, under the support of the local government of Weihai, eight Chinese and South Korean enterprises set up the joint venture Weihai Weidong Ferry Co Ltd to engage in the shipping businesses of the two countries.

The company then opened the first shipping route between the two countries that ran between Weihai and Incheon, South Korea. It was named Golden Bridge, which was a reference to the friendship between China and South Korea.

As Weihai was only 93 nautical miles away from Incheon, the route made full use of its geographic advantages and brought prosperity to the city, bolstering its opening up efforts to a further level.

Li Dongqing, deputy director of Weidong Ferry Co Ltd, spoke highly of the two countries' relationship by noting that in addition to sharing close geographic ties, China and South Korea share similar culture and folk customs. He also predicted a promising future for the cooperation between the two countries in terms of economy, trade, culture, and tourism.

Weihai made another breakthrough in economic and trade exchanges with South Korea in 2015 when the two countries signed the China South-Korea Free Trade Agreement, with Weihai being designated as the Local Economic Cooperation Demonstration Area of the Sino-South Korea Free Trade Area. The agreement promoted the city's cooperation with South Korea in the industrial, science and technology, as well as finance fields.

In March 2019, Weihai signed an agreement with Incheon to jointly build a multi-modal logistics system for land, sea, and air transport, bringing more convenience to the two coastal cities.

To better take advantage of the construction of the Sino-South Korea FTA, Weihai exerted efforts to join in the new development pattern and decided to set up Local Economic Cooperation Demonstration Area Park of Sino-South Korea Trade.

The construction of the Sino-South Korea FTA also brought benefits to Korean enterprises. Jin Shanfan, vice-general manager of a Korean enterprise located in Weihai, said that the establishment of the Sino-South Korea FTA helped them improve competitiveness in the Chinese market, while the favorable logistics base and trade policy facilitated trade between the two countries, deepened cooperation between Chinese and Korean enterprises, as well as accelerated the formation of a complete industrial chain.