jznews.com.cn (Reporter Chen Lijun)--This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, "Hubei China-South Korea Friendship Week 2022" opened in Wuhan on November 17. At the Opening Ceremony & "Exchange of Sentiments along the Han River" Hubei China-South Korea Forum on Local Friendly Cooperation, Jingzhou was the only prefecture or city in Hubei to make a presentation. As a window and epitome of close exchanges between China and South Korea, Jingzhou will work with its sister cities in South Korea to elevate the level of cooperation and achieve more results in various fields.

On November 17, witnessed by the attendees, Honghu, Jingzhou signed an agreement on the establishment of sister city relationship with Buan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. For Jingzhou, the addition of a pair of international sister cities will inject new momentum for China-South Korea friendship while consolidating the friendship between the two areas. In 2021, Jingzhou's import and export trade volume with South Korea hit 62 million U.S. dollars, up 68.1% year on year. Jingzhou and its South Korean sister cities have forged ahead together against all odds and helped each other, carrying out fruitful exchanges in fields such as education, humanities and arts.

Automobile is a leading industry of South Korea, and automotive parts are one of Jingzhou's advantageous industries. There are currently more than 200 automotive parts manufacturers and suppliers in Jingzhou, which provided strong support for the two sides to jointly build a major industry.

Jingzhou is a large eco-agricultural city known as "a land of honey and milk, as well as a granary of China". While Jingzhou's sister city Gangneung is also a large agricultural city that is rich in seafood, and the deep processing of agricultural products is its leading industry. There is greater potential for agricultural cooperation between Jingzhou and South Korea.

There was a special exhibition themed by "Chu Style, Korea Charm" during the event. Enterprises like Merlinbird Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., Natrich Food Group, Hubei Xiao Hu Duck Food Co., Ltd. and Hubei Xiangchi Sports Products Co., Ltd. appeared at the exhibition, looking forward to going global through the event.

The report to the 20th CPC Congress noted that creating a new development pattern is open domestic and international cycles rather than a closed domestic cycle. High-standard opening-up is essential for realizing high-quality development. Jingzhou's foreign affairs work will be accurately oriented, and focus on the main theme and the main line. Jingzhou will leverage its strengths to convert its foreign affairs resources into the advantage of opening-up.