Analysis of the Korea's Trade Deficit with China in 2023

The establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea dates back to 1992, marking over three decades of bilateral relations. The bilateral trade has generated fruitful outcomes between the two nations. In the background of the accelerated evolution of century-old transformations, profound changes are occurring in the global and regional economic landscape. During the post-epidemic period, China-South Korea economic and trade cooperation encounters numerous challenges, including structural adjustment and restructuring of industrial chains and supply chains. This paper based on the analysis of Sino-South Korea trade data by the Ministry of Commerce of China. Firstly, this paper introduced the "Trade Integration Index" to measure the level of trade interdependence between China and South Korea, revealing a significant degree of mutual reliance in their trade relationship. However, South Korea exhibits a higher degree of economic interdependence with China and relies heavily on trade. In recent years, the trade complementarity between China and South Korea has diminished while competition has intensified. By examining the global trade system, this paper conducted a comparative analysis of South Korea's import and export partners, revealing a significant reliance on China. Based on this, this paper puts forward some suggestions on Korea's trade deficit.