The Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region agreed to boost cooperation with South Korea in the medical cosmetology industry on March 17.

Bai Lan, deputy director of the office of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, said that Guangxi is adjacent to ASEAN countries. It is the only place in China that has both land and sea routes with ASEAN, making it the most convenient channel for Chinese businesses and products to enter ASEAN.

She added that Guangxi is a famous hometown of longevity in China and it attaches great importance to the development of its health industry. It has the largest research institute of ethnic medicine in China and the largest pharmaceutical botanical garden in the Asia-Pacific region. Guangxi is willing to strengthen cooperation with South Korea in health industries, such as the medical cosmetology and treatment industries, to jointly build a health industry chain.

A total of 22 South Korean medical cosmetology companies signed an agreement of intent to invest in Guangxi. In addition, Nanning in Guangxi and Wonju in South Korea signed an agreement to establish sister city ties. The two sides will carry out in-depth cooperation in the health industry, the construction of a medical cosmetology industrial park, and the construction of medical cosmetology equipment production lines.

Wonju is one of the most important railway transportation hubs in South Korea. The city has four large-scale industrial parks, including Yuanzhou Medical Industry and Technology Valley. It is also home to nearly 1,000 industrial manufacturing enterprises and 800 commercial enterprises, covering metal, machinery manufacturing, textiles, minerals, steel, food, and other industrial fields, as well as retail and wholesale businesses.

Trade between Guangxi and South Korea has increased since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) took effect last year. In 2022, the import and export volume of foreign trade between Guangxi and South Korea reached $2.04 billion, an increase of 82.1 percent over the same period the year before. South Korea has also invested in 121 enterprises in Guangxi, with a contracted foreign capital amount of $320 million.