The final stop in the South Korean president's 4-day trip to China is Chongqing.
One of the country's four direct-controlled municipalities.
An up-and-coming major hub of trade in Asia But the city is special for more than just
these reasons.
Lee Jeong-yeon explains further.
One of the most significant diplomatic trips for Korea this year: President Moon Jae-in's
first state-visit to China.
It comes after a long-standing row between Korea and China over the deployment of the
U.S. missile defense system THAAD.
As expected, President Moon spent his first two days in the capital city Beijing, during
which he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to discuss the future
and development of Seoul-Beijing relations.
But as is the norm for Korean state visits to China, he is visiting another city; this
time it's Chongqing in Southwest China.
(stand-up) President Moon Jae-in's choice to visit Chongqing
is turning much focus toward this relatively unfamiliar city.
But given its regional characteristics and historic background, experts are hopeful that
this visit will help boost bilateral relations.
During World War II, Chongqing housed the headquarters of the last Korean government-in-exile,
in which Moon's predecessors organized the movement for independence from Japanese colonial
rule, and laid the foundations for modern Korea.
(Kor) "The President's visit to the Korean government-in-exile
in Chongqing reflects back on how the leaders of the two countries actively communicated
at the time…
In the long run, meeting the city's leader Chen Min-er could also lay the foundations
for future relations as he is a close ally of President Xi and one of the potential future
leaders of the country."
Chongqing is also home to several of Korea's biggest companies such as SK Hynix and POSCO,
as well as Hyundai Motor, which the president is expected to visit on his trip.
(Kor) "President Moon's visit to Chongqing shows
a strong interest in the city, which could be a huge boost, helping encourage local companies
in the region collaborate with the Korean companies there."
The city's land-locked location also gives companies the upper hand in expanding into
the inner-most regions of China.
(Kor) "The traditional places for expansion such
as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shandong Province are saturated markets with high competition.
In contrast, the central west area of China has strong buying interest, which is yet to
be fully explored by Korean companies.
So they can really use it to their advantage with the right marketing."
More importantly, the keyword when discussing economic opportunities in Chongqing is China's
"Belt and Road Initiative."
The BRI is a major project proposed by Xi Jinping that aims to connect Eurasian countries,...
by bridging the gap in infrastructure to accelerate economic growth in the region.
Experts say that because of the role Chongqing plays in this huge nation-wide project, President
Moon's visit to the region should hopefully pave the way for Korea to also participate
in the project.
(Kor) "The BRI passes through Chongqing, and considering
its strategic location, South Korea needs to think of ways to make use of it to get
onboard the project."
President Moon Jae-in made it clear not long after taking office in May that one of his
main economic goals is to improve Korea-ASEAN relations, and proposed the "New Southern
Policy."
It aims to boost trade with ASEAN countries to more than 200-billion U.S. dollars a year
by 2022.
Experts say that while paving our own way when expanding economic relations is a good
start, being a part of BRI would boost these efforts.
(Kor) "The South Korean government's 'New Southern
Policy' aims to improve diplomatic relations with ASEAN countries.
China's Belt and Road Initiative also happens to pass through this region.
So we need to create a co-dependent relationship with China so they also need us."
President Moon's visit to Chongqing, and China overall, is just the first step for the two
countries in thawing diplomatic relations.
But pundits remain hopeful that the state visit, along with the additional South Korea-China
free trade agreement talks coming up this month,... will bring mutual benefits for both
countries.
Lee Jeong-yeon, Arirang News