The China-South Korea Economic Cooperation Forum was held in Qingdao, Shandong province on July 6 to seek economic and trade cooperation under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, local media reported.

The China-South Korea Economic Cooperation Forum is held in Qingdao, Shandong province on July 6. [Photo/Guanhai News]

The RCEP agreement, the world's largest free trade deal to date, came into force on Jan 1. Since then it has brought tangible dividends to economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

Last year marked a series of cultural exchanges between China and South Korea. The China-South Korea Economic Cooperation Forum was one of those celebratory activities, and it was also part of the economic and trade cooperation section of the Shandong-South Korea Exchange Week.

Representatives from Chinese and South Korean government departments, business associations and enterprises attended the forum.

Qingdao, Shandong province [Photo/VCG]

Other activities were also held, including the Shandong-South Korea Industrial Cooperation Matchmaking Fair, the South Korea excellent commodity exhibition, and an online live broadcast competition.

Qingdao is the bridgehead of China-South Korea exchanges and cooperation. According to official data, South Korea is Qingdao's second largest source of foreign capital and its second largest trading partner.

As of the end of May, South Korea had invested in 13,621 projects in Qingdao, with an actual foreign capital of $20.11 billion.

In 2021, the trade volume between Qingdao and South Korea totaled $11.19 billion, an increase of 44.3 percent year-on-year.