SEJONG -- South Korea needs to brace for a change in trade relations with China, as industries in the global economic powerhouse are undergoing rapid development, First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun said Friday.

At an economy-related vice ministerial meeting in Seoul, Bang said China’s industrial structure has showed “advancement in technologies,” adding that this has been bringing about a change in bilateral trade structure with Korea.

The government will spare no effort to build sustainable, reciprocal relations with China, its biggest trading partner, by effectively coping with the situation, he said.

He also expressed worries over Korea’s worse-than-expected performance in shipments to China.

“China’s GDP growth in the second quarter stayed at 0.4 percent on-year, due to lockdown of major cities (amid the pandemic),” he said. “Affected by this, Korean exports to China has contracted recently, while the nation had continued to post a double-digit growth (in the shipments to China).”

The minister said “it is necessary for policymakers to take measures, so as to foster conditions that the Korean economy will be able to see a rapid bounce-back when the Chinese economy enters a recovery mode.”

Among the countermeasures would be offering trade financing, resolving a glitch in supply chains and easing regulations, he said.

According to data suggested by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the growth in exports to China declined by 0.8 percent in June, and 2.5 percent during the first 20 days of July, compared to the corresponding periods of 2021.

This is in contrast to the positive growth of 22.9 percent in 2021 and 15.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)