Gyeongbuk Trade Delegation Achieves $33 Million Export Consultation Results in Changsha and Xi'an, China

Kim Hak-hong Director "Expanding Cooperation with China"

10 Small and Medium Enterprises Including Cosmetics Participate

Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 15th that it dispatched a trade delegation to Changsha and Xi'an, the capitals of Hunan Province and Shaanxi Province respectively, which are emerging as representative consumer markets in inland China, from the 11th to the 15th, achieving export consultation results worth approximately 33 million USD.

The trade delegation, led by Kim Hak-hong, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, was organized to respond to the reopening of economic activities in China and to discover local buyers in Xi'an, which is growing as a central city for the Western China Development and the Belt and Road Initiative, and Changsha, a representative consumer city in central China. This was held in commemoration of the 10th and 5th anniversaries of the sisterhood agreements between Gyeongbuk Province and Shaanxi and Hunan Provinces, respectively.

Kim Hak-hong, Vice Governor of Gyeongbuk Province and head of the Gyeongbuk trade delegation (second from the left), and Song Kyung-chang, President of the Gyeongbuk Economic Promotion Agency (first from the left), are touring the export consultation site in Xi'an, China.

This project, operated in cooperation with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) trade offices, involved one-on-one export consultations between 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Gyeongbuk Province, which possess excellent products such as food and cosmetics, and local buyers. The consultations were held in Changsha on the 12th and in Xi'an on the 14th.

Before and after the consultation meetings, continuous follow-up management will be conducted over 3 to 6 months at the KOTRA trade offices in Changsha and Xi'an, including communication with local importers and market response surveys. In Xi'an, in cooperation with the Chongqing Regional Headquarters of the Small and Medium Business Corporation, a Wanghong (Chinese individual live-streaming influencer) was invited to the consultation venue to conduct a live broadcast promoting Gyeongbuk products on-site.

Dewy Cosmetic (located in Gyeongsan), which participated in this event and specializes in tints and ampoules, stated, "China has 240 million single-person households, and with the expansion of the middle-class consumer base, demand for high-quality consumer goods such as functional cosmetics is explosively increasing. In the case of Changsha, it is relatively open and has a high consumption level, making it favorable for the distribution of imported goods. This creates a good environment for Korean SMEs to enter with products such as food and cosmetics."

Fresh Bell (located in Gyeongsan), which handles baby beverages, said, "Seeing the potential of the vast Chinese market, we have been steadily seeking entry opportunities by participating in trade delegations organized by Gyeongbuk Province since 2016. Even during the COVID-19 period, we conducted promotional activities in cooperation with local Chinese governments and non-face-to-face video consultations, resulting in tangible export achievements. Especially, this consultation meeting is significant as it allowed us to newly open the inland markets of Xi'an and Changsha."

Onespam (located in Mungyeong), specializing in coin broth and coffee bean bread, signed an on-site contract worth approximately 1 million USD with a buyer who has long imported Korean food and daily necessities, along with product placement in local convenience stores in Changsha, Hunan Province. Additionally, they signed export agreements worth a total of 1 million USD with a local trading company in Xi'an, with 500,000 USD each for coffee bean bread and coin broth products.

Medway Korea (located in Gyeongsan), which handles functional hair nutrition products, signed an on-site contract to supply products worth approximately 500,000 USD with companies importing cosmetics and hair care products mainly in Xi'an, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Gansu Province.

Kim Hak-hong, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, who visited the export consultation site, said, "China is a close neighbor with whom we share a relationship of 'mutual watch and help, enduring wind and rain together (守望相助, 風雨同舟),' protecting and cooperating with each other, overcoming difficulties together like crossing a river, and living together for a long time. We will use this trade delegation as an opportunity to further expand the face-to-face economic and trade cooperation relationship with China, which was active before COVID-19."

China has established itself as the top export country and a key economic cooperation partner for Korea and Gyeongbuk Province. As of the first half of this year, Korea exported 70.4 billion USD, accounting for 23% of the total export amount of 307.2 billion USD, to China and Hong Kong. Gyeongbuk Province exported 6.3 billion USD, accounting for 27% of its total export amount of 23.6 billion USD, to China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.