Chronologies
China - Korea
Chronology from Apr 2006 to Jul 2006
: PRC Premier Wen Jiabao states that “China is paying close attention to news that North Korea is possibly planning a missile-launch . . . I hope all parties will continue their efforts to maintain the stability of the Korean Peninsula.”
: ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon visits Beijing to meet counterpart Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. They agree on a “concrete and persuasive proposal” to North Korea to return to the Six-Party Talks as a precursor to bilateral talks over North Korea’s missile program with the United States.
: SK Telecom Company announces that it will invest $1 billion to buy convertible bonds in China Unicom Ltd., a strategic investment designed to tap a growing market in China for wireless services and products.
: The Export-Import Bank of Korea releases report stating that South Korean exporters would be at risk if the PRC further raises interest rates and tightens control on bank loans to cool its overheating economy.
: DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun visits China for consultations with PRC Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
: ROK Commerce and Industry Minister Chung Sye-kyun meets counterpart Bo Xilai in Seoul to discuss trade issues. Bo calls for progress in bilateral free trade agreement talks and called on Seoul to better manage labor-management disputes, while Chung mentioned difficulties that South Korean businessmen have in managing differences between local and central government policies in China.
: SK Corporation, South Korea’s top refiner, is exploring investments in the Chinese coalmining sector, according to SK’s senior vice president for the China division, Kim Sang-kook.
: Ministry of Justice announces the issuance of a new employment visa, the H-2 visa, from July, enabling ethnic Koreans from China and Russia to freely enter, depart, and work in Korea for up to five years.
: Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces gives a reception in honor of a Chinese delegation led by former Deputy Department Director of the Chinese Academy of Military Science Shao Hua, on the occasion of their visit to the gravesite of Mao Anying, son of Mao Zedong, who died in North Korea during the Korean War.
: China Council for Promotion of International Trade Chairman Wan Jifei leads a Chinese delegation to a four-day international trade fair in Pyongyang.
: A delegation of the China Development Bank headed by Gov. Chen Yuan visits Pyongyang and meets with Vice Premier Ro Du-chol.
: Director of the IT bureau of Hainan Province Ma Er Qiang and a delegation from China arrive in Seoul for training in e-governance systems.
: PRC Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong leads a government economic and trade delegation to Pyongyang for the second meeting of the DPRK-China Economic, Trade, and Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee.
: ROK Ministry of Environment announces that record levels of harmful materials were contained in “yellow dust” from China during this spring season. The dust contained iron levels 12 times higher than that during a normal day in Seoul.
: China’s unexpected move to lift interest rates by 0.27 percent to 5.85 percent hits markets in Seoul, raising concerns that higher interest rates may dampen prospects for Korean exporters.
: PRC State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan makes a secret trip to Pyongyang and briefs Chairman Kim Jong-il on the results of Hu Jintao’s summit with George Bush.
: PRC DM Cao arrives in Seoul for meetings with counterparts.
: Based on the popularity of Korean-made products in the Middle East, some Chinese counterfeiters have produced products with a “Made in Korea” label, according to a report by GNP Assemblyman Kwak Sung-mun.
: Korea International Trade Association releases a report warning that imports from China are beginning to outpace Korea’s exports to China, and calling for a Sino-Korean FTA and industrial dialogues to better manage economic relations.
: South Korea hit by an unexpected series of “yellow dust” storms from China, leading to calls for more effective forecasting of the storms and heightening concerns about high levels of dangerous elements in the air during those storms.
: Plans by the Korea Exchange to internationalize the Seoul stock exchange by inviting Chinese companies to list are stalled by roadblocks from Chinese regulators. Shenzhen-based PowerLeader Science and Technology Company, Ltd., was one of the first Chinese companies to apply for a listing on the Korean stock market, but its application remains blocked.
: A report released by KDI states that China is expected to pose a full-fledged challenge to South Korea’s semiconductor, electronic parts, and consumer electronics exports globally.
: PRC Defense Minister Cao Guangchan arrives in Pyongyang for meetings with his counterparts.
: Kyodo report states that China and North Korea agree to set up a joint economic development zone near Nampo, an east coast port in North Korea.