Economic and Trade Relations as an Arena of Korea-China Contention

Korea and China have maintained cordial economic relations for the past twenty years based on remarkable expansion of trade and investment flows. However, some disputes in the economic and trade arena have occurred, a few of which escalated to a serious level. This article examines the overall picture of these bilateral disputes, focusing on their causes and effects. The discussion extends to predicting the future prospects of the disputes based on the changing nature of the bilateral economic relations. In particular, disputes regarding product safety, restructuring of bilateral trade and investment, technology transfer, and a China-Korea Free Trade Agreement are identified as potential areas of future conflict.