Chronologies
China - Korea
Chronology from Apr 2005 to Jul 2005
: PRC Finance Minister Ma Kai and ROK Minister of Finance and Economy Han Duck-soo meet in Beijing to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties in the energy and information technology sectors.
: PRC Minister of the State Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense Zhang Yunchuan leads a team of officials and private sector leaders to Seoul for a six-day visit to discuss joint nuclear energy projects and to meet with ROK Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Energy Lee Hee-beom.
: ROK PM Lee Hae-chan meets with PRC PM Wen Jiabao during a three-day visit to Beijing and signs a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in developing cutting-edge technology and cooperation in the field of nano-technology.
: Former South Korean prisoner of war Jang Pan-seon arrives in Seoul, but the fate of family members remains uncertain as they reportedly remain in the hands of Chinese brokers.
: Over 400 business and opinion leaders from Korea and China attend the 2005 Korea-China Economic Conference entitled “Pursuing Super Economic Cooperation in East Asia” to promote interactive economic ties and to encourage investment in China prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
: Korean Internet company SK Communications Co. unveils a Chinese-language version of their popular Cyworld weblog services (www.cyworld.com.cn).
: Seven North Korean refugees enter the Thai embassy in Vietnam, seeking asylum to South Korea.
: ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade asks China to streamline complex procedures imposed on South Korean cultural projects taking place in China to help facilitate the Korean wave, or “hallyu.”
: Middle school history text book “History to Open the Future” is published by a team of scholars and civic organizations from China, Japan, and Korea.
: ROK Culture and Tourism Minister Chung Dong-chea announces that the ministry would support 100 selected Chinese restaurants to serve the increasing number of Chinese tourists to South Korea.
: Grand National Party opposition leader Park Geun-hye visits China to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis with top Chinese leaders including Wang Jiarui, director of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
: Bank of Korea reports that the revaluation of Chinese yuan would benefit the Korean economy, dismissing concerns that the currency adjustment could undermine South Korea’s economic growth potential.
: KITA announces that China either imposed import restriction measures or initiated anti-dumping investigations on 26 Korean export items, accounting for the largest number of restrictions imposed on foreign import items.
: A 10-member National Assembly delegation of the Korea-China Friendship Association led by Vice Speaker Park Hee-tae visits China for meetings with Chinese counterparts.
: PRC President Hu and ROK President Roh Moo-hyun meet in Moscow on the sidelines of the 60th anniversary commemoration of the end of World War II.
: Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. says it has been chosen as the preferred negotiator to build a nuclear power plant in Zhejiang Province, the first step in pursuit of export of South Korea’s domestically built nuclear reactors to China.
: ROK FM Ban Ki-moon and PRC FM Li Zhaoxing express concern about the exchange of invective between the U.S. and DPRK and its implications for the resumption of Six-Party Talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe Meeting in Kyoto.
: Heads of the development banks of China, Korea, and Japan meet to promote stronger financial sector cooperation for regional economic development.
: Hynix Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics hold groundbreaking ceremony for a cutting-edge memory chip manufacturing facility in Wuxi in Jiangsu Province.
: Seoul Chinatown Development announces that it will start construction of “Chinese Street,” the first of three phases in the construction of a Chinatown in Ilsan, Kyunggi Province.
: Kumho Tire Company completes expansion of plant in Nanjing, doubling production capacity in China, and announces that it will invest over $400 million during the next two years to expand China-based production, including a new plant at Tianjin.
: Korean carmakers unveil three new models for production in the Chinese market at Auto Shanghai 2005.
: Korea Meteorological Association announces that the six yellow dust storms that have hit South Korea during March-April of 2005 are the most since 1990.
: Korea National Tourism Organization chooses popular Hong Kong actress and singer Chen Huilin as goodwill ambassador for Korea’s tourism industry.
: Senior officials from South Korea, China, and Japan meet in Beijing and discuss rising tensions over historical issues between Japan and its Asian neighbors and to plan the agenda for the trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan set for early May.
: Newspaper reports speculate that President Hu Jintao may visit Pyongyang in late April following consultations with DPRK Vice Minister Kang. The visit did not materialize.
: A survey of Korean companies by the Institute for Global Management finds that most Korean executives believe Chinese companies will reach South Korea’s technical level in four years or less; 18 percent responded that China has already established an equivalent technical footing with Korean companies.
: PRC Ambassador to the ROK Li Bin voices support for South Korea’s plan to play the role of a “balancer” in Northeast Asia as long as it contributes to peace and prosperity in the region.
: Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announces that over 2.84 million South Koreans visited China in 2004, a 46 percent increase over the previous year. Only Japan surpassed South Korea in the number of visitors to China.
: Delegates from Foundation of Medical Professional Alliance in Taiwan and Taiwan Medical Association visit Korea to draw support for its entry to the WHO.
: DPRK Vice FM Kang Sok-ju leads delegation to Beijing to discuss Pyongyang’s possible return to the Six-Party Talks on its nuclear weapons program.