As China (Shenyang) South Korea Week enters its 20th year, one of the event's organizers — Heping district of Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning province — has grown in step with the event and become an important site for advancing the opening-up efforts of the provincial capital, according to local officials.
China (Shenyang) South Korea Week 2022 concluded on Monday. Representatives of Chinese and South Korean government bodies, trade promotion agencies and leading enterprises attended the five-day event.
Held in the year marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea, China (Shenyang) South Korea Week 2022 provided the two countries with a platform for dialogue and cooperation in economic, cultural and other spheres and contributed to the goal of turning Shenyang into an international metropolis in Northeast Asia, according to local officials.
Since the inception of China (Shenyang) South Korea Week in 2002, Shenyang has developed sister-city ties with South Korea's cities including Incheon and Daegu.
As one of the organizers and main venues of the event, Shenyang's Heping district became a sister district with Yongsan district in Seoul, South Korea, in August.
Wang Bin, deputy head of the Heping district government, said the district has made notable achievements in promoting Sino-South Korean cooperation.
"By hosting the South Korea Week event, we hope to establish more extensive cooperation with our South Korean partners in commerce, technology, economy, beauty, healthcare, trade services, digital economy and the metaverse, among other realms," he noted.
Metaverse refers to a virtual reality world created by digital technologies that mirrors or goes beyond the real world.
China (Shenyang) South Korea Week 2022 is different from the past sessions in three aspects, according to Wang.
"First of all, this year's South Korea Week takes place in the year marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea. Second, this year the event has been integrated into the Liaoning International Fair of Investment and Trade, which is a national-level event. Third, it is expected that South Korea Week 2022 will have profound implications for international trade in the future, especially in the post-COVID-19 era," Wang explained.
On the role of Heping district in China-South Korea trade, Wang said it has helped broaden the fields of cooperation between the two sides, which now cover sectors including commerce, logistics and metaverse.
"We can use China (Shenyang) South Korea Week as a starting point to boost bilateral exchanges in the post-pandemic era," Wang noted, adding that the geographical proximity and the strong cultural bond between the two countries will generate more opportunities for dialogue and cooperation in the future.
A busy commercial street in Heping district of Shenyang. CHINA DAILY
